History Textbook Project: Japan

Siegfried Ramler says of the Japanese history textbook problem: "It helps to view the matter of Japanese school books in perspective, recognizing that the Japanese ministry of education, the "mombusho", represents a traditionally conservative point of view on textbook issues, shared by nationalistic factions of the government. These factions are reluctant to face up to Japan's role during the pre-war and wartime militaristic regime, and are particularly averse to presenting an unfavorable historical image to Japanese youth. This is in contrast to German educational policy, where school children are fully exposed to the study of crimes committed during the Nazi era and are routinely taken to view holocaust sites and memorials.

The reason for this contrast lies in the differing circumstances in Germany and Japan under which World War II ended. Germany, in rising from the ashes after almost total destruction, found it natural and necessary to totally repudiate its Nazi past. There are only fringe exceptions to this repudiation. Japan, though it also replaced autocracy by a democratic constitution and a pluralistic government after the war ended, was spared total destruction and carried over to the post-war period its deep historical and cultural roots which are strongly linked to national pride. Still, despite continuing jingoistic trends in education, Japan does not speak with one voice. As the article in the San Francisco Chronicle points out, there are also examples of documentaries which depict Japanese transgressions. The maturity of a nation may be measured by the way it faces its past. In the case of Japan, this process will still take time".

Ronald Hilton - 4/30/02