Japan Press Weekly

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2014 August 20 - 26 [POLITICS]

Education panel proposes imposition of particular morals

An expert panel of the Central Education Council to the Minister of Education compiled a draft proposal on August 25, suggesting that specific moral lessons be taught as a special school subject.

Interfering in and controlling people’s freedom of conscience by the state will open the way for the present cabinet’s attempt to turn Japan into a war-fighting nation as well as to make the best nation in the world to fully support corporate interests.

The draft highlights the need for a “normative consciousness” and a sense of values such as honesty and loyalty to be fostered “as members of society”. It, however, contains little reference to basic constitutional human rights. Under the draft, school headmasters will take the leadership and mobilize all teachers to promote a moral education.

Prewar Japan instilled in children militarist mindsets as stipulated by the 1890 Imperial Rescript on Education. With deep remorse over this history, postwar Japan in its supreme law advocates people’s freedom of thoughts and beliefs and has conducted moral education not as a special subject but through educational activities as a whole.

Public moral education is important, but morality appropriate for a democratic society where the people are the sovereign should not be imposed by the state power but chosen by people’s own initiative.

However, the Abe Cabinet is seeking to teach children “morality” in classes and even evaluate their achievement in regard to this special subject as a means to establish a regime which imposes a particular sense of patriotic values on people.

The Abe government in its National Security Strategy calls for the strengthening of the Japan-U.S. military alliance by emphasizing “love” for the country. It is obvious that the government is aiming for the implementation of a nationalistic moral education based on its definition of patriotism.