NEW JAPANESE TEXTBOOKS DISTORT HISTORY

[Anchor Lead]

The Japanese government Tuesday approved textbooks for elementary school students starting next year, which have been found to further reinforce historical distortions. The textbooks emphasize that the mobilization of Koreans during Japanese colonial rule was voluntary, reflecting the Japanese government's claims, and the argument for Japan's territorial claim to Dokdo has become even more unreasonable.

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These social studies textbooks are to be used at Japanese elementary schools. The section on the forced conscription of Koreans during the Japanese colonial rule states the following. In the part about Korean conscripts the phrase "brought to Japanese factories and mines by force" has been changed to "mobilized." The textbooks also say Koreans "participated" as Japanese soldiers. Captions to a photo showing young Koreans say they "volunteered to serve in the army." The wording is aimed at diluting the forced nature of Japan's wartime acts and make it appear as if Koreans did everything at their own will. The new textbooks fully reflect the Japanese government's perception of history based on the Japanese cabinet's decision in 2021 to erase the words "taken by force."

[Soundbite] Yoshimasa Hayashi(Japanese Foreign Minister (March 9)) : "There was nothing that could constitute forced labor (such as conscription or recruitment)."

Most of the Japanese school textbooks introduce Dokdo islets as "an integral part of Japan." They also contain more maps where the islets are marked as "Takeshima" and introduced as such. The Japanese government instructed that the northern territories and Dokdo be renamed from "Japanese territory" to "integral part of Japan" in sixth-grade textbooks to make it appear as if those territories have never been occupied by other countries. The phrase "Dokdo was occupied by Korea" has been changed to "illegally occupied by Korea." This shows that Japan is determined to step up its territorial claims over the islets.

[Soundbite] Lee Shin-chul(Asia Peace and History Institute) : "If Japan wants exchanges and coexistence in the future, its government should stop meddling in school textbooks and scrap its policies that deny its past."

Japanese textbook publishers are increasingly reflecting the government's perception of history and its opinions. A key reason why historical distortions in school textbooks are becoming more serious.