 Right-wing forces lobby for school textbook praising war of aggression The forces promoting a history textbook that praises the Japanese war of aggression are now persuading local boards of education to adopt it for their public junior high schools for the next four years. The "Association for a New History Textbook", the group that published the history textbook in question, is supported by some members of parliament and prefecural governors. On January 23, the association held a symposium in Tokyo as part of its promotion of the textbook. Its chairman said that the association will do its utmost to have at least 10 percent of all districts adopt its textbook. In 2001, the association's textbook came under strong criticism not only in Japan but in other Asian countries, including China and South Korea, which fell victim to the Japanese war of aggression that ended in 1945 with Japan's surrender. As a result, only a few schools adopted the controversial textbook. The total number of copies used was 521. The association was established in 1997 by academics and business people who justify Japan's 15-year war against Asian countries, known as the Pacific War, as a "just war" and a "war for the liberation of Asia from Western rule". In a great distortion of history, it even says that the Japanese army encouraged Asian people and accelerated the independence of Asian countries. Politicians campaigning for the rightist history textbook is led by Nakagawa Shoichi, who is currently the minister for economy, trade and industry. Their group is called "Young Dietmembers Thinking about Japan's Future and History Education". Abe Shinzo, the acting secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is the parliamentary group's secretary general. Education minister Nakayama Nariaki is the group's deputy chair. (end) |