(born 1943) is both a founder and vice president of the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform (Tsukurukai, now headed by
Nishio Kanji). He was once a professor at the
Tokyo University and later moved to
Takushoku University
Takushoku University (拓殖 大学; ''Takushoku Daigaku'', abbreviated as 拓大 ''Takudai'') is a private university in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1900 by Duke Taro Katsura (1848–1913). . He is now retired.
He was born in
Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, and raised in
Shibecha, Hokkaido. He is noted for his efforts at removing from
Japanese textbooks accounts of wartime atrocities committed by
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
during the
Second World War
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 opposin ...
. He is considered to be a
conservative and a
nationalist
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: The ...
, and has been quoted as saying that he "stand(s) for a viewpoint of history with an emphasis on national interest," and that the study of Japanese history is "subject to the ultimate moral imperative of whether or not it serves to inculcate a sense of pride in being Japanese." He has also said that to "write
historybased only on verified historical truths makes...
tinsipid and dry. I had no choice but to write from my own imagination to a great extent."
In the early 1990s, Fujioka founded the Liberal View of History Study Group, which advocated "correcting history" by promoting a "positive view" of Japanese history, and removing all references to what he referred to as "dark history." By 1995, he had created the Association for Advancement of Unbiased View of History (Jiyuu-Shugi-Shikan Kenkyuu-Kai)
and the Committee to Write New History Textbooks. Among Japan's top ten bestsellers in 1997 were two volumes edited by Fujioka, ''History The Textbooks Do Not Teach'' and ''Shameful Modern History''.
In late 1996, Fujioka and his followers had joined with others to form the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform (Tsukurukai, now headed by
Nishio Kanji). This group authored ''The New History Textbook'', which was one of eight junior high school history textbooks authorized by the Ministry of Education in April 2001. In December 2000, a draft textbook circulated by the Society and shown on national television elicited criticism by many Japanese historians and teachers.
He is an assenter of the negationist film ''
The Truth about Nanjing
is a 2007 film by Japanese nationalist filmmaker Satoru Mizushima about the 1937 Nanjing Massacre (Nanking Massacre).
Background and funding
Mizushima said he received more than 200 million yen (US$1.8 million) in donations from 5,000 of his su ...
''.
See also
*
References
External links
''Examining the Japanese History Textbook Controversies''; Kathleen Woods MasalskiNational Clearinghouse for U.S.-Japan Studies; East Asian Studies Center; Indiana University
Washington University webpage
Asiaweek magazine article
Japan Watch article
''The 'Comfort Women' Controversy: History and Testimony''; Nozaki YoshikoZ Magazine article
''Asia battles over war history: The legacy of the Pacific War looms over Tokyo's plans for the future''; David McNeill and Mark Selden
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fujioka, Nobukatsu
1943 births
Living people
Hokkaido University alumni
Academic staff of the University of Tokyo
Japanese critics
Japanese anti-communists
Members of Nippon Kaigi
China–Japan relations
Nanjing Massacre deniers
Japanese educational theorists
People from Iwamizawa, Hokkaido
Historical negationism