イギリス英会話ブログ

The BBC reports today on the largest demonstration to take place in Okinawa since the island was returned to Japan by the US in 1972. And the reason for the protests is the government’s meddling in the content of history textbooks to be used in schools in Japan.

For some reason, there seems to be a mental block in Japan when it comes to facing up to the horrors of the war. Of course, no one enjoys remembering such terrible events but surely it is important to pass on to the next generation an accurate and impartial version of history so that they can possibly avoid making the same mistakes? Former Prime Minister Abe’s policy of encouraging a ‘love of country’ among school students reflected his view that the government should play an active role in education. But this kind of meddling in what should be the reserve of experts and academics has sparked off an explosion of opposition in Okinawa. The only thing that strikes me as strange about the situation is that more demonstrations of sympathy were not coordinated on the mainland, too. Perhaps mainlanders still regard Okinawans as not quite the same as the rest of the Japanese nation. Whatever, when standing up to the government it would seem wise to organize opposition on as broad a basis and as broad a scale as possible.

It will be interesting to see how Mr.Fukuda reacts to the demonstration in Okinawa - and may well prove an indicator of just how healthy democracy is in Japan. After Abe’s rather dismal one year leading the country, perhaps Fukuda and his gang should be keenly aware of the importance of listening to public opinion on matters like these.

Whatever happened in Okinawa - and I am not an expert in Japanese history by any stretch of the imagination - everyone can surely recognize that Japan has changed since that time. The violence of harakiri that was relatively normal hundreds of years ago is no longer with us. While the spirit of responsibility and duty that lay behind it may still exist in the hearts of Japanese people, we can consign harakiri to the history books without insulting that spirit. And so, perhaps, with the military’s involvement in mass suicides in Okinawa - it is time to acknowledge the wrong, without damning the whole Japanese race once again.