Japan's Cabinet approved a bill yesterday to make nurturing "love of country" an aim of education.
The bill has drawn controversy because it promotes patriotic attitudes and incorporates "public spirit" into the existing law that requires Japan's education to respect individual dignity.
While the opposition fears it would revitalize the nationalistic sentiment that brought pre and postwar militarism to Japan, conservatives have sought for revision citing the need to emphasize a spirit of patriotism and respect for tradition.
The revisions -- which would be the first to the 1947 Fundamental Law of Education since it was enacted during the US-led occupation -- are unlikely to be welcomed by China and South Korea, locked in disputes with Japan stemming from the legacy of Japanese military occupation and colonization.
The revisions would make it a goal of education policy to cultivate "an attitude that respects tradition and culture, loves the nation and the homeland that have fostered them, respects other nations and contributes to peace and development of international society."
Education Minister Kenji Kosaka told reporters: "We want to make efforts to enact this bill and to gain the people's understanding."
Among those keen on the change is Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, the current front-runner in the race to succeed Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi when he steps down in September.
Conservatives have long been unhappy with the US-drafted law, which they say eroded the pride of Japanese in their culture and history, and undermined legitimate patriotic sentiment.
"It's a very important symbol of a strengthening of nationalism in the political class and the will of the political class to educate people toward stronger nationalism," said Sven Saaler, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo.
Feuds have already erupted with Beijing and Seoul over textbooks that critics say whitewash Tokyo's past aggression.
Japan's relations with its two neighbors are also frigid because of Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni shrine for war dead, where some convicted war criminals are honored.
Critics of the proposed new education law fear for freedom of speech and thought.
"This revision would turn back the clock to the pre-war era," Communist Party lawmaker Ikuko Ishii told a gathering of opponents to the changes this week. "It is a serious violation of freedom of thought."
Some conservatives politicians, though, are disappointed that the changes do not go further to include cultivating a "patriotic spirit" as well as a "religious attitude."
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
RSS