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Thursday, April 14, 2005
frustration
i've been watching nhk news pretty regularly ever since the controversy over the New History junior high textbooks, published by the Japanese Soceity for Textbook Reform, incorporated in the new school curriculum. Basically the issue is that China and Korea (less so) are protesting the use of these textbooks as they merely gloss over the atrocities Japan committed during the time of the 2nd World War (incidents date earlier than official involvement). This includes the Nanking massacre and the use of mostly Korean 'comfort women.' In the textbooks, the former is referred to as the "Nanjing incident." Recently there were violent incidents in Shanghai as Japanese-owned stores were vandalised, 2 exchange students were assaulted, and there was a demonstration/raid on the Japanese embassy. preceding these events, China had publicly condemned Japan and the US for their visits to Taiwan-there was probably a thinly veiled Bush-like ultimatum hiding in the wings.
What to make of this? Are the Chinese and Koreans freaking out over nothing? Are the Japanese totally at fault?
The Japanese government is notorious for its collection of hard right-wing conservative nationalists-it would be safe to assume that groupthink is a oft-visited mental state. So in a way it's not a surprise that yet again, right-wing nationalists were hired to create these new textbooks. The authors' goal was to promote japanese nationalism, as they claim it has been eroded-essentially lost-in the face of changing global attitudes. National heroes including a manga artist are highlighted in the text.
Pride in native land is all fine and well (and can be fun: take note of SMAP's "Made in Japan" tour) but should NOT come at the expense of truth and mercy. Despite the fact that only a handful of public and private JHS are using the New History textbooks (no pun intended i guess), the matter still stands that the deliberate omission of necessary vocabulary/facts is still permeating part of Japan's collective consciousness-a blatant absence of learning endorsed by the Mombusho (ministry of education).
Say what? Government is supposed to be representative of the people? The ranks of high-level government include hard-liner-militant old-school nationalists like Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, who has made extremely derogatory comments towards foreigners in public addresses, who is a strong backer of the Textbook Society. Fortunately, the majority of Japanese do NOT agree with the use of these textbooks including the Japanese teachers union which does not support the use of the texts. To add to the chaos, in 2001 when another batch of textbooks written in the same vein were produced, the publishers and administration implemented the textbooks in the curriculum of special needs schools in Tokyo. The underlying motive was greater acceptance of the content if seen in such a "sympathetic" setting. Gag.
Effectively what that stunt and in general what this whole situation shows is the denial of humanity. As soon as you strip the Other of an identity, of potential, it's always easier to wave a dismissive hand.
Japanese people have the right to know what happened, and hopefully by extricating and explaining their history in a concise and factual telling, recognition of the Other as a neighbour, a friend, a Person, will be facilitated. The blowhards so bent on self-preservation for Japan forget that by dismissing what happened during the war, they condemn their own. What of the men who served in the war? Who can they tell their story to? What of the horrors they faced in Nanking? What of their families? Who do you tell when no one wants to hear you? What happens when you are denied your experiences? (Read kerri sakamoto's One Million Hearts for more insight).
Japan needs to take ownership of its past and stop ignoring it like it never happened. The easiest way for reparations to occur would be for the government to issue an official apology to the citizens of the countries the Imperial Army devastated and
yes, Japanese people have a violent and horrible past...but failure in the past does NOT guarantee failure or weakness in the present. I just wish people would understand that. I know that's a hopelessly naiive position and very out of sync with the proper politickings that happen every day...and that's exactly why i have an intense aversion to power struggles. But i get so angry when I see this happening in a country I truly love, and how it is just reinforcing stale and destructive attitudes. Mind you, when one of the accusers is China, who likes to produce its own version of revisionist history, it's equally as frustrating. Hey China, wanna grab a tea and chat about Tiannamen Square? Yeah, didn't think so.
Argh, the world is so depressing sometimes. Gambare minna.
i've been watching nhk news pretty regularly ever since the controversy over the New History junior high textbooks, published by the Japanese Soceity for Textbook Reform, incorporated in the new school curriculum. Basically the issue is that China and Korea (less so) are protesting the use of these textbooks as they merely gloss over the atrocities Japan committed during the time of the 2nd World War (incidents date earlier than official involvement). This includes the Nanking massacre and the use of mostly Korean 'comfort women.' In the textbooks, the former is referred to as the "Nanjing incident." Recently there were violent incidents in Shanghai as Japanese-owned stores were vandalised, 2 exchange students were assaulted, and there was a demonstration/raid on the Japanese embassy. preceding these events, China had publicly condemned Japan and the US for their visits to Taiwan-there was probably a thinly veiled Bush-like ultimatum hiding in the wings.
What to make of this? Are the Chinese and Koreans freaking out over nothing? Are the Japanese totally at fault?
The Japanese government is notorious for its collection of hard right-wing conservative nationalists-it would be safe to assume that groupthink is a oft-visited mental state. So in a way it's not a surprise that yet again, right-wing nationalists were hired to create these new textbooks. The authors' goal was to promote japanese nationalism, as they claim it has been eroded-essentially lost-in the face of changing global attitudes. National heroes including a manga artist are highlighted in the text.
Pride in native land is all fine and well (and can be fun: take note of SMAP's "Made in Japan" tour) but should NOT come at the expense of truth and mercy. Despite the fact that only a handful of public and private JHS are using the New History textbooks (no pun intended i guess), the matter still stands that the deliberate omission of necessary vocabulary/facts is still permeating part of Japan's collective consciousness-a blatant absence of learning endorsed by the Mombusho (ministry of education).
Say what? Government is supposed to be representative of the people? The ranks of high-level government include hard-liner-militant old-school nationalists like Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, who has made extremely derogatory comments towards foreigners in public addresses, who is a strong backer of the Textbook Society. Fortunately, the majority of Japanese do NOT agree with the use of these textbooks including the Japanese teachers union which does not support the use of the texts. To add to the chaos, in 2001 when another batch of textbooks written in the same vein were produced, the publishers and administration implemented the textbooks in the curriculum of special needs schools in Tokyo. The underlying motive was greater acceptance of the content if seen in such a "sympathetic" setting. Gag.
Effectively what that stunt and in general what this whole situation shows is the denial of humanity. As soon as you strip the Other of an identity, of potential, it's always easier to wave a dismissive hand.
Japanese people have the right to know what happened, and hopefully by extricating and explaining their history in a concise and factual telling, recognition of the Other as a neighbour, a friend, a Person, will be facilitated. The blowhards so bent on self-preservation for Japan forget that by dismissing what happened during the war, they condemn their own. What of the men who served in the war? Who can they tell their story to? What of the horrors they faced in Nanking? What of their families? Who do you tell when no one wants to hear you? What happens when you are denied your experiences? (Read kerri sakamoto's One Million Hearts for more insight).
Japan needs to take ownership of its past and stop ignoring it like it never happened. The easiest way for reparations to occur would be for the government to issue an official apology to the citizens of the countries the Imperial Army devastated and
to grant citizenship to persons born of foreign heritage
or at least, for a start, Koreans born in Japan or "imported" to Japan. Discrimination against Koreans has been happening for decades, the worst of it was during the annexation of Korea during the 30s. The Imperial Army justified the takeover by claiming Koreans were actually a different type of Japanese, thus a reunification between the two cultures needed to take place. However, the brutalities inflicted upon the Korean people (Korean/Hangul was not allowed to be used; rape; reposession of land/goods; forced slave labour; overall 3rd class treatment...) only manage to cleave the members of each culture further away from each other. Only recently has there been a softening of borders, as both Korea and Japan have become strong enough to command global recognition of their economic strength. However, even to this day, a soccer/baseball/whatever game between Korea and Japan will never just be a game. The order of the names of the countries during the World Cup was bitterly debated. Koreans living in Japan still don't use their real names, choosing to adopt Japanese versions (Kim becomes Kin (gold)) instead. Grant them citizen status-let them vote, go to the same universities, work side by side with your brothers, let them realize their potential! The government has tried throwing money at the Korean comfort women, but were rejected. All the women really needed was an official apology. An acknowledgement of who they were and what they were forced to endure. Recognition of the brutality a human can inflict on another human.yes, Japanese people have a violent and horrible past...but failure in the past does NOT guarantee failure or weakness in the present. I just wish people would understand that. I know that's a hopelessly naiive position and very out of sync with the proper politickings that happen every day...and that's exactly why i have an intense aversion to power struggles. But i get so angry when I see this happening in a country I truly love, and how it is just reinforcing stale and destructive attitudes. Mind you, when one of the accusers is China, who likes to produce its own version of revisionist history, it's equally as frustrating. Hey China, wanna grab a tea and chat about Tiannamen Square? Yeah, didn't think so.
Argh, the world is so depressing sometimes. Gambare minna.
// posted by naomi @ 1:29 p.m. 
