June 28, 2016
A civic group recently released the results of a survey on Japanese university students’ understanding of modern and current history. The results show that the level of understanding about war crimes committed by Japan in the 20th century is fairly low.
The group consisting of citizens, historians, and university professors this April conducted the survey on 2,500 students at 13 universities across the country.
According to the findings, about 80% of the respondents said that they “know” about Japan’s colonization of Taiwan (1895) and the Korean Peninsula (1910) as well as the Sino-Japanese War (1937-45).
On the other hand, less than half of the respondents said that they can “explain” each of the historical events associated with Japan’s war crimes. Those events include the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty (1910), the March 1 Independence Movement in Korea (1919), the Nanjing Massacre (1937), Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army which carried out cruel human experiments, the Imperial Army’s sex slave system, and the fact that the Imperial government forced many Koreans and Chinese to work in Japan during World War II.
Meanwhile, more than 70% replied that they can explain the Potsdam Declaration and the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
The civil organization pointed out that university students are not sufficiently aware of the damage Japan inflicted on other nations during the Asia-Pacific War while they are well aware of the damage Japan suffered during the war. The organization underscored the need for universities to increase the number of classes to teach about key historical events in the 20th century.
Meiji University Professor Kakizaki Shigeru, one of the group initiators, cited some examples of graduates who are working abroad and said, “People with little historical knowledge are treated coldly in the business world, even if they are proficient in foreign languages.”
The group consisting of citizens, historians, and university professors this April conducted the survey on 2,500 students at 13 universities across the country.
According to the findings, about 80% of the respondents said that they “know” about Japan’s colonization of Taiwan (1895) and the Korean Peninsula (1910) as well as the Sino-Japanese War (1937-45).
On the other hand, less than half of the respondents said that they can “explain” each of the historical events associated with Japan’s war crimes. Those events include the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty (1910), the March 1 Independence Movement in Korea (1919), the Nanjing Massacre (1937), Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army which carried out cruel human experiments, the Imperial Army’s sex slave system, and the fact that the Imperial government forced many Koreans and Chinese to work in Japan during World War II.
Meanwhile, more than 70% replied that they can explain the Potsdam Declaration and the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
The civil organization pointed out that university students are not sufficiently aware of the damage Japan inflicted on other nations during the Asia-Pacific War while they are well aware of the damage Japan suffered during the war. The organization underscored the need for universities to increase the number of classes to teach about key historical events in the 20th century.
Meiji University Professor Kakizaki Shigeru, one of the group initiators, cited some examples of graduates who are working abroad and said, “People with little historical knowledge are treated coldly in the business world, even if they are proficient in foreign languages.”
