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Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

City faces protests at adopting rightist textbook

The Otawara City Board of Education in Tochigi Prefecture was flooded with phone calls and e-mails on July 13 in protest against its decision to adopt a history textbook praising Japan's war of aggression for the city's 12 public junior-high schools (a total of 2,200 pupils) from April 2006.

Otawara City is the first city to adopt the textbook edited by the society for history textbook reform.

About 50 protesters gathered in the building where the board of education meeting was held. They tried to hand in a written protest to the municipal superintendent of educational affairs, but he refused to accept it. The participants held a rally and called for a signature campaign demanding that the board of education reconsider its decision.

Tawara Yoshifumi, secretary general of the Children and Textbooks Network 21 said, "The decision is political. It should be immediately retracted."

Akahata of July 14 reported that the Liberal Democratic Party and rightist groups had pressed the Otawara City Board of Education to choose the war-praising textbook. Four years ago, two cities and 8 towns in Tochigi Prefecture chose the rightist textbook but retracted their decision due to public protests.

The All Japan Teachers and Staff's Union on July 13 sent a protest against imposing the textbook on schools and calling for reconsideration.

A spokesperson of the South Korean government on July 13 expressed deep regret at the decision. China's Xinhua news agency on the same day denounced the decision. -- Akahata July 14, 2005