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

Only 0.4% of schools will use war-glorifying textbook

A controversial history textbook that justifies Japan's war of aggression will be used by about 0.4 percent of junior high schools next year, far from the editor's goal of ten percent.

The Children and Textbooks Japan Network 21 and 14 other groups that work on issues concerning children and education on September 1 jointly stated, "This is a victory for democracy and public involvement in politics."

The Network 21 said that the Ehime and Shiga prefectural boards of education adopted the "New History Textbook" edited by the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform to use at prefecture-run schools, while Tokyo Metropolitan Government-run schools are to use both the history and civics textbooks. Out of 583 districts across Japan, only Otawara City in Tochigi Prefecture (history and civics) and Suginami Ward in Tokyo (history) decided to use these textbooks. Nine out of all private junior high schools in Japan adopted both the history and civic textbooks, and three schools adopted only the civics textbook.

With the support of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform sought to have a ten percent share of municipal junior high schools use its textbooks, but public criticism of and the movement in opposition to the textbook that justifies Japan's war of aggression influenced the vast majority of municipalities from adopting it.

Tawara Yoshifumi, secretary general of Network 21, said, "The Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform urged municipalities to adopt its textbooks by applying pressure from politicians. Our movement against the rightist textbooks increased more than that in the previous adoption period attempted in 2001. I hope this movement will develop into a movement against the adverse revision of the Constitution and the Basic Education Law."

Shinzo Abe, acting secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, as well as many other influential LDP politicians openly called for adoption of these textbooks in schools. -- Akahata, September 2, 2005