Teaching patriotism in Japanese schools

[TinyRedLeaf]

Japan schools to teach patriotism

BBC News (UK), 18 May 2007 -- Japan's lower house of parliament has approved a new law requiring schools to teach children to be patriotic.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition voted for the law, which cites "loving our country" as a goal of Japanese pupils' compulsory education.

Opposition members of parliament protested against the bill, warning that it could spread nationalism.

The new legislation will be sent to the upper house for further debate and is expected to become law next month.

Parliament changed the Basic Education Law in December, requiring teachers to encourage patriotism as part of Japanese children's compulsory education for the first time since World War II....

.....The move to instill patriotism may also meet concern from South Korea and China, which remain suspicious of Japan because of its wartime aggressions.

But the [Japanese] government wants Japan to be more assertive on the world stage, with a military able to take part in peacekeeping missions abroad.

I wonder if this is the right forum to bring up this issue, but since this board is about a cultural product from Japan, ie, anime, I thought I'd post some thoughts here. If any moderator feels that this thread is inappropriate, feel free to shut it down.

The abovementioned news is the latest in a round of constitutional and administrative changes that the current Japanese premier, Abe Shinzo, has been pushing to implement. For example, just last month (Apr 2007), Japan's lower house of parliament approved guidelines to amend the country's pacifist constitution for the first time since WWII. The constitution continues to renounce Japan's right to wage war, but the revisions are meant to enable Japan to participate in collective self-defence, and to allow the Self-Defence Forces (SDF) to help allies under attack.

Essentially, Abe Shinzo wants to create a more assertive Japan, a Japan that Japanese can be proud of. The creation of a "new" defence ministry to replace the former defence "agency" that administered the country's Self-Defence Forces.

As far as loosening constitutional restrictions and re-defining its military's role are concerned, as a foreigner, I'm one of the minority who doesn't actually see much problem in it. It's a matter of practicality after all. For example, a strict interpretation of Japan's current Constitution could in fact prevent them from shooting down missiles launched by N.Korea and passing through Japanese airspace with the US as their final target.

I also wouldn't mind giving the SDF a more "assertive" role. After all, the SDF is already one of the most advanced and best equipped military force in Asia-Pacific. It is already a modern armed force in everything but name.

But teaching patriotism in Japanese schools.....? I have misgivings about this latest set of developments. Granted, it seems benign enough at the moment, but I am very concerned about whether it's the start of a slippery slope towards militant nationalism.

In my opinion, what Japan ought to do first is to start teaching an accurate view of their role in WWII before they even start thinking of teaching "patriotism". While I understand the (questionable) need for Japanese to "feel good" about themselves, I strongly feel that they had better do some honest self-reflection first.

What do you guys feel?

[WanderingKnight]

Anything that pushes people towards a biased view of reality is dangerous, in any society, as it divests people from the ability of fully analyzing every side of a complex situation. Within these "pushes", nationalism is one of the most famous and more widely used by governments worldwide.

This is not exclusive of Japan. Governments all over the world have been getting more and more paranoid as the international situation is slowly starting to get nasty, on the verge of the fall of the American dominance. It really isn't such a wondrous event that things like this start happening.

[4Tran]

It feels more and more like this and the freeing up of the SDF's restrictions are responses to China's growing economic and political power. If that's the case, it's probably going to be a very bad idea in the long run. It's never a good idea to unduly upset one's closest neighbors and largest trading partners.

I guess the most important thing is going to be what this patriotism education will actually entail.

[Jinto]

If japanese people (actually japanese government which was elected by japanese people) feel the need to boost their pride like this... I mean what can teaching patriotism provide? A faked good feeling for the own country at best, and propaganda driven nationalism at worst. But maybe it is a starry-eyed attempt to address some of the problems... e.g., patriotism against the declining birth-rate: Make more babies, it is your duty as a patriotic citizen! ... maybe not, how about... patriotism against westernization, demoralization and cultural suppression as in: Be a uniform, patriotic member of this glory society, we can make it better. Just repeat this slogan until you believe in it. ... hm, what else... Well maybe patriotism against the yakuza as in: It is your patriotic duty to observe the yakuza and report anything they do against public law, contact your local police station for further information. If you happen to be a yakuzi please get in touch with a police officer to receive reintegration treatment.


I would really like to know why the law was passed, can someone provide the intentions for this (from the point of view of Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition)?

[Red Herring]

I wonder what Europe's reaction would be if Germany did this?

Nothing like a good old fashioned conqueror on your block to make you nervous...although SK and China's recent belligerence with the whole Japanese history this comfort women that are totally political and hypocritical even. The matter of the fact is, nobody teaches "correct" history and I think singling Japan out in regards to that is ludicrous.

As far as this "patriotism" thing...so what? As far as I knew, Japanese right wing paramilitary groups that get a hard on at pictures of Emperor Showa are just as fringe as Neo Nazis in the West. Slippery slop towards militarism? I think that is exaggerating. The seeds that led to World War 2 were planted in the middle Meiji and the fertilizer(this analogy...doth it make sense lol) were the rampant assassinations and political terror of the early Showa in the 1930s. Japanese civil authority had no control whatsoever over the military, and they basically ran rampant, invading Manchuria and setting off the chain of events that would lead to WW2. Until we see anything similar occuring, which to say the least is incredibly unlikely, I think it is unreasonable to put all this negative spin on anything regarding Japan and military power. What confuses me is how the Western media can embellish all this "rising patriotism" nonsense from Japan and almost ignore REAL regional threats like North Korea.

[TinyRedLeaf]

I haven't been able to find that many other English-language editorials other than the BBC report. The only other different one I've found is by AP:

Patriotism law for Japanese schools set to take effect (Taipei Times)

The bill is also designed to strengthen coordination among schools, families and communities, while stressing the importance of parental guidance and introducing lifelong learning opportunities....

...Because of the bill's emphasis on morality, ethics and patriotism, some opponents compare it to the 1890 Imperial Rescript of Education, which the wartime leaders forced all schoolchildren to memorize and recite before the portrait of the emperor.

So, to be sure, there seems to be nothing "concrete" yet. But these statements leave a lot of room for interpretation, and I would be lying if I said I'm not concerned. The proposed changes are eerie echoes of the "state-sponsored indoctrination of children practiced by Japan's past military leaders" (Washington Post, 15 Dec 2006).

You see, I'm something of an "apologist" for Japan. Given the strong feelings of older generations of relatives and friends against the Japanese, I often try to lay out a more balanced context. I point out that younger generations of Japanese are usually more "pacifist" than we give them credit for -- they may not have a correct understanding of their own past, but at least they're highly unlikely to desire a war of aggression today.

If these right-winged education "reforms" become commonplace, I'm not so sure I can take that view anymore.

I'm also disturbed to read that:

The bill will also reinforce the education minister's power over local education boards, and introduce a requirement for teachers to renew their licences every 10 years.

That sounds a lot like an attempt to coerce teachers into adopting conservative views, especially with regards to their choice of textbooks and school curriculum. The teachers' union is apparently one of the last remaining bastions of pacifism in Japan, and I wonder if this is the first step of a long-reaching plan to undermine the union.

I know that sounds a bit far-fetched. But it really doesn't help that the history of events leading up to facisim in pre-WWII Germany, and to ultra-nationalism in pre-war Japan bring up similar warning signs. I suppose it's still too soon to tell what Abe's government is up to, but such developments are an uneasy reminder of the ultra right-wing's continuing influence in Japan. Things can change very quickly overnight if we're not careful -- it has happened before, and it might well happen again.

Originally Posted by Red Herring

As far as this "patriotism" thing...so what? As far as I knew, Japanese right wing paramilitary groups that get a hard on at pictures of Emperor Showa are just as fringe as Neo Nazis in the West. Slippery slop towards militarism? I think that is exaggerating.

I wished I share your confidence. The right-wing is not a "fringe" in Japan as you might think. It's no secret that most of the elder politicians of the ruling Labour Party are closet nationalists. The main reason why you don't often hear or read about it is because they have the political commonsense to keep their views to themselves.

[raikage]

Originally Posted by Red Herring

I wonder what Europe's reaction would be if Germany did this?

Nothing like a good old fashioned conqueror on your block to make you nervous...although SK and China's recent belligerence with the whole Japanese history this comfort women that are totally political and hypocritical even. The matter of the fact is, nobody teaches "correct" history and I think singling Japan out in regards to that is ludicrous.

As far as this "patriotism" thing...so what? As far as I knew, Japanese right wing paramilitary groups that get a hard on at pictures of Emperor Showa are just as fringe as Neo Nazis in the West. Slippery slop towards militarism? I think that is exaggerating. The seeds that led to World War 2 were planted in the middle Meiji and the fertilizer(this analogy...doth it make sense lol) were the rampant assassinations and political terror of the early Showa in the 1930s. Japanese civil authority had no control whatsoever over the military, and they basically ran rampant, invading Manchuria and setting off the chain of events that would lead to WW2. Until we see anything similar occuring, which to say the least is incredibly unlikely, I think it is unreasonable to put all this negative spin on anything regarding Japan and military power. What confuses me is how the Western media can embellish all this "rising patriotism" nonsense from Japan and almost ignore REAL regional threats like North Korea.

The thing about North Korea is, I don't think Kim Jong Il is insane enough to actually want war.

He rattles his saber a lot, because he wants international attention and because his countrymen are starving, but he knows that if he actually used a nuclear weapon, North Korea might very well be turned into a giant parking lot the next day.

As far as the Japanese bill goes, it is a bit worrying -- since apparently the language of the bill says the aim is to instill a great sense of pride into their young adults...hopefully not blind patriotism, but the possibility is VERY there.

To be fair, though, here in the States elementary school children recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day in class. Should we be concerned about attempting to indoctrinate US children? Is Japan talking about doing something like this, and nothing more?

[ibreatheanime]

Question: How do you teach patriotism?

Is discussing history of a country, or singing its national anthem, teaching patriotism?

If so arent we doing the same thing in the United States? (its just not law)

Correct me if I am wrong.

[Red Herring]

Well I can understand your irrational fear of renewed ass kicking of Asia by the Japanese given that you live in Singapore, the olde Fortress of Asia that the Brits thought the lowly Japanese would never conquer in a thousand years.

Look, I've already given my persepective on things. I can't believe the spin in that Taiwan article, comparing this to the Meiji rescript on education. LOL. All this "worry" is far too alarmist and even a bit prejuducial for me to take seriously. I mean, a resurge in Japanese pride in themselves = Rape of Nanking redux? Is that the general worry here? Can people be that paranoid and presumptive?

[Claies]

Does all this really matter?

Sure, Japan is as socially right-wing and nationalist, if not more, than Germany. It's in their culture. However, even if they get militarily nationalist, what are they going to do? It's not like they can overpower China, which has more people in military drafting age than the population of the United States, or anything. If they want to get defensive against outside threats, so be it. They should also be concerned that teaching Japanese children to hate the Americans and the rest of Asia for whatever reason out of World War II will cut out the trade that the country depends so much upon.

I think this is a kneejerk reaction against the extensive social degradation in Japan as a result of proliferation of all forms of digital entertainment (remember Manabi Straight?). They want Japan back to its traditionalist roots. It's really no different from Nicolas Sarkozy's wish for immigrant regularization, and the American equivalents of the Republicans or even the Christian Coalition, for that matter.

In a more humorous note, I'd be more horrified when it turns out all the anime/manga they're going to produce will end up having extensive nationalist/propaganda undertones.

[Vexx]

There's a huge difference between:
> patriotism
> nationalism
> cynical manipulation and revisionism of history to cover up past misdeeds.
> cynical manipulation and revisionism of religion to justify current misdeeds.

Most governments or factions intentionally subvert those differences to achieve their goals.

There's an extreme right-wing in Japan that would like to pretend a lot of nasty things done in WW2 didn't happen. That alone shows me how little honor they have and really sullies the noble part of the japanese traditions of honor and responsibility. The US has this different sort of idiocy going where we have a really kneejerk reactionary and guilty response to things we've done after the ones directly responsible have died (slavery, indian affairs, ww2 atrocities, etc) --- I suppose the moral here is that humans are irresponsible idiots in general, especially the ones that want to be in charge.

[Red Herring]

Originally Posted by raikage

The thing about North Korea is, I don't think Kim Jong Il is insane enough to actually want war.

He rattles his saber a lot, because he wants international attention and because his countrymen are starving, but he knows that if he actually used a nuclear weapon, North Korea might very well be turned into a giant parking lot the next day.

Take my word for it, if North Korea used a nuclear weapon, we would not respond with nuclear weapons. It would be another bloody, difficult invasion with ground troops...why? If we wiped out all those starving and repressed N. Koreans we would never ever ever rebound from the stigma against us.

[WanderingKnight]

Take my word for it, if North Korea used a nuclear weapon, we would not respond with nuclear weapons. It would be another bloody, difficult invasion with ground troops...why? If we wiped out all those starving and repressed N. Koreans we would never ever ever rebound from the stigma against us.

Today, when you fight a war US style, you bomb from afar first, and then, when the field has been cleared up, you move in with your troops. But I don't buy that "we won't throw a nuclear bomb at them even if they do" bullshit. The US is the only country that ever used nuclear weapons in a war--that alone should suffice to make me suspicious of them at every corner.

[Red Herring]

Originally Posted by WanderingKnight

Today, when you fight a war US style, you bomb from afar first, and then, when the field has been cleared up, you move in with your troops. But I don't buy that "we won't throw a nuclear bomb at them even if they do" bullshit. The US is the only country that ever used nuclear weapons in a war--that alone should suffice to make me suspicious of them at every corner.

Well I'm sure you'd pop a huge chubby if I told you that we Americans here are vicious savages that love to murder people wholesale with our expensive weapons, but the fact of the matter is we aren't like that and even though I think military leaders, no matter where they are from, care nothing for human life it just wouldn't make any geopolitical sense to wipe a whole country off the face of the Earth.

I mean, I'm assuming you must be the type of judgemental person that assumes we Americans are just dumb barbarians, but give us a little fucking credit, would you?

[WanderingKnight]

I mean, I'm assuming you must be the type of judgemental person that assumes we Americans are just dumb barbarians, but give us a little fucking credit, would you?

Nah. I just believe your government to have no type of scruples when it comes to their supposed claims of "self-protection". But, I don't want to derail the thread further, so I'll leave it at this.

[Spectacular_Insanity]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Japan schools to teach patriotism

....

But teaching patriotism in Japanese schools.....? I have misgivings about this latest set of developments. Granted, it seems benign enough at the moment, but I am very concerned about whether it's the start of a slippery slope towards militant nationalism.

....

What do you guys feel?

Weren't there provisions in the treaties following (i.e. Japan only being allowed a defensive army, etc) WWII that prevented stuff like that? I know from my japanese history class that anything and everything referring to or extolling the glory of the Japanese Empire was blacked out in old textbooks. If this gets out of control, the revised constitution might kick in.

[Kyuusai]

Originally Posted by WanderingKnight

Today, when you fight a war US style, you bomb from afar first, and then, when the field has been cleared up, you move in with your troops. But I don't buy that "we won't throw a nuclear bomb at them even if they do" bullshit. The US is the only country that ever used nuclear weapons in a war--that alone should suffice to make me suspicious of them at every corner.

That was a couple of generations ago, though. Still close enough to remember with personal sorrow and regret, but far enough away that we can't make the same assumptions. The US did use nuclear weapons then, but Germany was busy conquering Europe and committing genocide along the way, and we don't act particularly suspicious of Germans. At least when the US did drop the bomb, it wasn't regarded even by the people who did it as an atrocity. (As awful as the US can be, it's mostly an open book compared to a lot of countries and their dirty dealings).

I think that highlights the difference in the worry about Japanese patriotism, though. In Japan, the patriotism movement is still tightly linked with movements that deny the former atrocities and take several other very frightening stances. To put it more simply, the worry is that the practice will cross the line between patriotism and nationalism. It's hard enough to separate the two in other countries, but Japanese history, culture, and politics makes it even harder there.

[Vexx]

Exactly... its not the idea of patriotism that stinks... its the motives of those pushing it so hard in this particular case. People that wrap themselves in flags are so often hiding something (as we see in many countries (*cough* my country *cough*) as well as Japan).

[Demongod86]

Oh please. Every country has the right to love itself and teach self-love to the newest generations. I know I for one like the country I'm in. Not that I think it's a perfect utopia where nothing can go wrong, but I certainly like it enough not to want to live anywhere else.

I think people need to get over WWII as well. It was more than 60 years ago. God forbid we forgive what happened! You don't see the Americans thinking that OMG GREAT BRITAIN IS A TYRANT THAT WANTS TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD still, do you? That wasn't all that long ago, either.

Not to mention communication travels much faster nowadays, and we've learned the lessons of WWII. Our conflicts nowadays are with terrorists that scurry between buildings, not with entire nations rallied against us. And if there were to be another large-scale conflict, I can bet you that the countries that do have stealth fighters would put them to quite the good use.

This is why I conclude that patriotic Japan=militarizing Japan is just a silly, unfounded fear caused by people that can't get over the past. Yes, Japan invaded China, and the Japanese army did a bunch of nasty things in China. Yes, it was wrong. Yes, it was a tragedy on a large scale. No, it's *not* the end of the damn world. I know I have Korean friends, Japanese friends, Chinese friends, hell, I can't even tell the difference between one Asian ethnicity and another. To me, they're all my "smarter than me" friends.

Hell, I myself am Russian by birth (born in Kiev while it was part of the USSR). I don't hate "the damn yanks", nor since I am American by citizenship do I think Russians are all "commie bastards". I am amazed that entire Asian nations can view Japan with such an almost irrational fear. The Cold War ended during my early childhood, and I have no misgivings about it one way or another. It happened, so it happened. WWII is HISTORY, people.

Even as a Jewish person who has had family killed during the holocaust, I *still* support a flag-waving, anthem-singing Germany. Hell, I think World Cup 2006 was a great, great thing, all the more so that the German head coach was an Americanized type of guy, that made all of Germany go bonkers by taking one world class player and a bunch of kids as high as he took them! (Too bad Klinsy's not coming back as the coach =X)

Really, there's nothing wrong with nationalism. Militarism is a whole different animal that probably will not be happening anytime soon, as it's an economic disaster.

[Vexx]

Your first paragraph is fine. But the rest of your post shows a lack of realization that many people on both sides HAVEN'T gotten over it and thats why its still problematic. Have you been paying attention to the current "comfort" women controversy? Do you see the news reports of attempts by right-wing nationalists in Japan to rewrite history books to "delete" any references to atrocities? Many WW2 survivors are still alive --- they aren't "history" as you seem to be discarding them as.

You've just confused the difference between loving your country and manically worshipping it. Loving your country means loving it while recognizing it has flaws and a past. The other means denying your country has ever done anything wrong and suppressing any critique of it.