Japan Press Weekly

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2008 March 26 - April 1 [EDUCATION]

Education Ministry revises guideline to force teachers to ensure that pupils sing ‘Kimigayo’

In an unusual move, the Education Ministry amended the published draft of the curriculum guideline for elementary and junior high schools, and published the finalized version on March 28.

The new guideline requires teachers to teach students how to sing “Kimigayo” (The Emperor’s Reign). The ministry newly mandated the fostering of students’ “love of the nation and hometown” in the general provisions. This is a part of 181 amendments the ministry made to the draft published last February.

The essence of the amendments is that education must serve the “promotion of patriotism,” the idea imposed on schools when the Fundamental Law of Education was revised in December 2006.

The amendments reflect the main goal of the 2006 revision of the Fundamental Law of Education, which is to establish the principle that the task of elementary schools and their teachers is to educate children to be faithful to the goals set by state power.

The guideline says Japanese “myths” must be included in elementary school. For junior high school, it stresses the importance of giving students opportunities to “think about Japan’s international contribution” as a part of social studies, referring to the overseas activities of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.

The amendments can be seen as part of the reaction put up by the rightist “Yasukuni group” in the attempt to regain their position that was lost with the collapse of the former Abe Cabinet.

When the draft of the guideline was published in February, the Japan Education Rebuilding Organization (JERO, an educationalist organization of the “pro-Yasukuni forces” established in October 2006) issued a statement criticizing it for “lacking the ideas and goals established in the new Fundamental Law of Education,” and demanded that the ministry drastically review the draft.

The Dietmembers’ Committee of Japan Conference, made up of the Liberal Democratic and Democratic parties, and former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, who resumed political activities, have made similar moves.
- Akahata, March 30, 2008