![Revisionists Yasukuni 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Revisionists_Yasukuni_1.jpg)
The is a group founded in December 1996 to promote a
nationalistic
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: T ...
view of the
history of Japan.
Productions and views
The group was responsible for authoring a history textbook published from Fusōsha (扶桑社), which was heavily criticised by
China,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
, and many Western historians for
not including full accounts of or downplaying Imperial
Japanese war crimes during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, such as the
Nanjing Massacre
The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the ...
(南京大虐殺) or as it's more commonly known in Japan The Nanjing Incident (南京事件), the "
Kantō Massacre" (関東大震災朝鮮人虐殺事件), and the policy of utilizing "
comfort women" (慰安婦).
The textbook also highlights Japan's claim to the
Liancourt Rocks
The Liancourt Rocks, also known by their Korean name of Dokdo or their Japanese name of Takeshima,; ; . form a group of islets in the Sea of Japan between the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago. The Liancourt Rocks comprise tw ...
, which Japan calls ''Takeshima'' and which South Korea calls ''Dokdo''; as well as the
Senkaku Islands, called Diaoyu in Chinese, which are administered by Japan and claimed by both the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and the
Republic of China (
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
).
The Japan Policy Institute (日本政策研究センター, not to be confused with the
JPRI based in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
) has published a pamphlet entitled "Questionable points of Chinese and Korean textbooks" (ここがおかしい中国・韓国歴史教科書). The institute accuses neighboring Asian nations' textbooks of containing
anti-Japanese propaganda, and encouraged people to compare the textbooks.
Public reception
The textbook, published as a trade book in Japan in June 2001, sold six hundred thousand copies by June 2004. Despite commercial success, the book was taken up by only a handful of schools, most of which are privately run and located in a comparatively small geographic area of Tokyo.
New History Textbook 2005 version
Translated by Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform.
New History Textbook (Chapter 4 & 5) 2005 version May, 2005
#Nanjing Massacre
The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the ...
:
"In August 1937, two Japanese soldiers, one an officer, were shot to death in Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
(the hub of foreign interests). After this incident, the hostilities between Japan and China escalated. Japanese military officials thought Chiang Kai-shek would surrender if they captured Nanking
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
, the Nationalist capital; they occupied that city in December. *But Chiang Kai-shek had moved his capital to the remote city of Chongqing. The conflict continued. Note *At this time, many Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed or wounded by Japanese troops (the Nanking Incident). Documentary evidence has raised doubts about the actual number of victims claimed by the incident. The debate continues even today" (p. 49).
# Marco Polo Bridge Incident:
"On July 7, 1937, shots were fired at Japanese soldiers while they were engaged in maneuvers near Marco Polo Bridge (located outside Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
). By the next day, this incident (the Marco Polo Bridge Incident) had escalated into hostilities with Chinese troops. The incident was of relatively small magnitude, and efforts were made to resolve it locally. But Japan decided to send a large number of troops to China when the Nationalist government issued an emergency mobilization order. These events marked the beginning of a war that lasted for eight long years" (p. 49).
#Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
The , also known as the GEACPS, was a concept that was developed in the Empire of Japan and propagated to Asian populations which were occupied by it from 1931 to 1945, and which officially aimed at creating a self-sufficient bloc of Asian peo ...
:
"The war inflicted a huge amount of devastation and suffering on the peoples of Asia, where it was fought. The casualties (both military and civilian) attributable to Japanese invasions were particularly high in China. Each time the Japanese occupied a Southeast Asian nation, they set up a military administration. Leaders of local independence movements cooperated with those military administrations so that they could liberate their countries from the yoke of the Western powers. But when the Japanese insisted that local populations learn the Japanese language and worship at Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
shrines, they met with resistance. Anti-Japanese elements who aligned themselves with the Allies engaged in guerrilla warfare, which Japanese troops dealt with severely. Many people, civilians included, were killed during these confrontations. When the fortunes of war turned against Japan and food supplies ran short, the Japanese often forced the local population to do back-breaking work. After the war was over, Japan paid reparations
Reparation(s) may refer to:
Christianity
* Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation
* Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin
History
*War reparations
**World War I reparations, made from G ...
to those nations. Then Japan was accused of promoting the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
The , also known as the GEACPS, was a concept that was developed in the Empire of Japan and propagated to Asian populations which were occupied by it from 1931 to 1945, and which officially aimed at creating a self-sufficient bloc of Asian peo ...
philosophy to justify the war and occupation of Asia. Later, after Japan was defeated and Japanese troops had withdrawn from Asia, all these former colonies achieved independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
through their own efforts during the next dozen years. Some Japanese soldiers remained in Asia and participated in the various struggles for independence. The initial goal of Japan's southward advance was to obtain resources, but it also served to spur on nascent independence movements in Asia" (p. 54)
#Japanese Actions Inspire the Peoples of Asia:
"Japanese soldiers drove out the forces of Western Europe, which had colonized the nations of Asia for many years. They surprised us, because we didn't think we could possibly beat the white man, and they inspired us with confidence. They awakened us from our long slumber, and convinced us to make the nation of our ancestors our own nation once again. We cheered the Japanese soldiers as they marched through the Malay Peninsula. When we saw the defeated British troops fleeing, we felt an excitement we had never experienced before. (Excerpt from the writings of Raja Dato Nong Chik, leader of the Malaysian independence movement and former member of the Malaysian House of Representatives)" (p. 54)
See also
*2005 anti-Japanese demonstrations
The anti-Japanese demonstrations of 2005 were a series of demonstrations, some peaceful, some violent, which were held across most of East Asia in the spring of 2005. They were sparked off by a number of issues, including the approval of a Japan ...
*Education in Japan
Education in Japan is managed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan. Education is compulsory at the elementary and lower secondary levels. Most students attend public schools through the lower ...
*Japanese history textbook controversies
Japanese history textbook controversies involve controversial content in government-approved history textbooks used in the secondary education (junior high schools and high schools) of Japan. The controversies primarily concern the nationalist r ...
*Japan Teachers Union
, abbreviated , is Japan's largest and oldest labor union of teachers and school staff. The union is known for its critical stance against the conservative Liberal Democratic Party government on such issues as ''Kimigayo'' (the national anthem ...
*Japanese nationalism
is a form of nationalism that asserts the belief that the Japanese are a monolithic nation with a single immutable culture, and promotes the cultural unity of the Japanese. Over the last two centuries, it has encompassed a broad range of ideas ...
* Japanese war crimes
* Japanese war crimes in mainland Asia
* Korean-Japanese disputes
* Manga - The Hate Korea Wave
* Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
*Nanking Massacre denial
Nanjing Massacre denial is the denial of the fact that Imperial Japanese forces murdered hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians in the city of Nanjing during the Second Sino-Japanese War, an extremely controversial episode in th ...
*Negationism
Historical negationism, also called denialism, is falsification or distortion of the historical record. It should not be conflated with '' historical revisionism'', a broader term that extends to newly evidenced, fairly reasoned academic reinter ...
*
*War crimes in Manchukuo War crimes in Manchukuo were committed during the rule of the Empire of Japan in northeast China, either directly, or through its puppet state of Manchukuo, from 1931 to 1945. Various war crimes have been alleged, but have received comparatively l ...
*Yoshinori Kobayashi
is a Japanese manga artist known for his controversial political commentary manga '' Gōmanism Sengen''.
Life
A student of French literature from Fukuoka University, Kobayashi published his first manga, ''Tōdai Itchokusen'' (東大一直 ...
** Gomanism
** Neo Gomanism Manifesto Special - On War
References
External links
ERIC Digest summary
*
Fuso Publishing Inc.
– Official website of the textbook's publisher.
Translated excerpts from the textbook
English translation
Simplified Chinese translation (簡体字)
Traditional Chinese translation (繁體字)
Korean translation
Translation project
Translation project home
*
Chinese translation project
*
{{Authority control
1996 establishments in Japan
Far-right politics in Japan
Japanese nationalism
Historical negationism
History organizations based in Japan
Organizations established in 1996
Reactionary