Revisionism in Education

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) decided to revise the standard of authorization of social studies textbooks for elementary, mid and high schools. New standard would demand all textbooks to reflect unified views of the government on history or territorial issues. Education in Japan is going to be more regulated by the government than ever. Growing concern from neighbor countries is expected.

All textbooks in Japan need to meet standard required by MEXT. Council of Textbook Authorization examines objectiveness of description, adaptation to teaching guidelines, or educational goal it sets. Publishers ordinary reedit their textbooks according to attached opinions. If they do not follow the opinions, the book would not be adopted as textbook in public schools.

New standard includes that description in textbook needs to reflect unified views of government or fixed judicial conclusions, and to balance the viewpoints in wartime facts, if there are different opinions on them. Following that, description on Nanjing Massacre would be required to reflect disputes over the number of victims. The government would also demand to reflect its view that post-war compensation for comfort women had been resolved between governments.

The administration led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is putting pressure on schools that adopted liberal textbooks. To Board of Education in Taketomi town, Okinawa, that rejected to adopt conservative civil study textbook against a decision of the regional organization, Minister of MEXT, Hakubun Shimomura, instructed Okinawa Board of Education to adjust it. A textbook of Japanese History for high schools, which included description about mandate of hoisting national flag and singing national anthem in schools, was not adopted after Boards of Tokyo and Kanagawa dismissed it.

There is a conservative movement frustrated with traditional liberal tendency in education. Politically based on those groups, PM Abe promotes educational reforms. The administration is considering moral education to be upgraded to an official subject in schools. If it becomes, students are graded according to their achievement in learning specific values given by the government.

With intervention by the government, choices of each school are getting limited. English will be introduced from third grade, two years earlier than it currently has been. Before imposing early English education to kids, the men in MEXT needs to study English to the extent they would never create such a complicated name for their organization.