Okinawans against historical rewrite
Another government is taking issue with Japanese revision of World War II history, but this time it’s not Korea or China, but the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly. Okinawa is opposing the national government’s orders to textbook publishers to delete references to the fact that the Japanese Imperial Army forced Okinawan civilians to commit suicide during the closing days of WWII.
The prefectural assembly’s move is in response to an earlier Education Ministry decision that ordered publishers to revise textbook references about the mass suicide of Okinawans during World War II battles.
The assembly also plans to ask the government to allow publishers to reinstate in textbooks descriptions of the mass suicide.
Several assembly members from the prefecture plan to directly inform Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Minister for Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Bunmei Ibuki.
Will the central government actually take wartime complaints from their own taxpaying citizens seriously?
June 23rd, 2007 at 3:26 amYeah, rewriting the wartime history is another kind of war crime. That the Japanese Army forced Okinawan civilians to commit suicide during the closing days of WW2 was the essential part of Japanese Imperial militarism, like Kamikaze fighter. Seriously, this fact should not be forgotten.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:09 amWhat happened in Okinawa strikes me as the last desperate act of the leadership of a cult-like system facing imminent defeat. Someone with clout in Okinawa should instead make a powerful film to recount what really occurred. If done right, it would be far more influential than what some textbooks may or may not state.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:43 am“What happened in Okinawa strikes me as the last desperate act of the leadership of a cult-like system facing imminent defeat.”
It was. And there are films about Okinawa and the Himeyuri-tai and so on. And I’ll bet Okinawan kids get taken on school trips to the Banzai Cliffs etc.
What is the reasoning behind removing the suicides from textbooks? And what stage is this - middle or high?
June 23rd, 2007 at 11:51 amMark Milton, if the central government cared about its taxpayers, there would be no Ministry for Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. This issue would disappear if Japan stopped trying to control the content of textbooks used in its public schools.
June 23rd, 2007 at 1:50 pmThat’s right; whoever heard of a Ministry of Education in any other country? Or rules about school curriculum? Must be a unique Japanese thing. Just give the kids money to buy some Naruto comics or something. It worked for me.
June 23rd, 2007 at 6:08 pmJapanese government has always been trying to distort and denied their horrible acts against mainly asian countries like China and Korea including even some western countries. Countless people were kidnapped, raped, humilated, tortured, and killed sometimes for only fun, and they and their descendants are still suffering from the attitude of Japan by their shameless denial and beautification on the unforgettable and horrible history through their school education, occasional politicians’ remarks, and the extreme right who chants a militant nation again with invisible backup from Japanese government. And now, they are even trying to distort the history of Okinawa, and people there in Okinawa is mad. This is hilarious. Guess now, Japanese people, at least, people in Okinawa must know how other asian countries feel about your governement. Shame of Asia. Well, Japanese do not think Japan is part of asia, anyway.
September 30th, 2007 at 5:02 pm