Textbook praising war of aggression must not enter classrooms

In Tokyo, about 500 people representing various educational groups held a meeting on June 9 to increase their opposition to the Society for History Textbook Reform's history textbook which glorifies Japan's war of aggression.

This coming summer, local boards of education will decide on textbooks to be used in elementary and junior high schools in their districts for the next school year starting in April 2002.

Participants decided to increase petitions to local boards of education to democratically select textbooks for use in their districts.

Among the speakers were Komori Yoichi, professor at Tokyo University and Kimishima Kazuhiko, professor at Tokyo Gakugei University.

The meeting adopted an appeal calling for efforts to make the dangerous content of the textbook known to as many people as possible so that such a dangerous textbook will not be assigned to students.

A representative of a South Korean association against the adverse revision of Japan's history textbook stated that the textbook's aim is to gloss over Japan's war of aggression. "We are very much concerned that the Japanese government is standing behind what the textbook wants to do and is seeking to make Japan capable of making war," he said.

A history teacher from South Korea in a speech quoted from a student's essay, which said, "Telling the truth will help to improve strained South Korea-Japan relations," and stressed that the truth of history must be taught now in both countries.

On June 7, the Japan Congress of Journalists published a similar statement calling for the approval of the history textbook authored by the Society for History Textbook Reform to be revoked. (end)