Rethinking Schooling for the 21st Century

Figure 3.3 References to ‘culture of peace and non-violence’ in primary and
secondary subject curricula in China, Japan and the Republic of Korea
25
National Language Foreign Language Maths
Science Social Science
No. of references per 100 pages
20
15
10
5
0
China Japan Korea,
Republic
of
China Japan Korea,
Republic
of
China Japan Korea,
Republic
of
China Japan Korea,
Republic
of
China Japan Korea,
Republic
of
This is starkly evident in the case of Japan, where a justified claim to uniqueness —
in relation to the 1945 atomic bombings — underpins a ‘forward-looking’ narrative
of quintessentially peaceable nationhood (Zwigenberg, 2015). Despite the efforts
of the current Abe administration to revise the post-war ‘Peace Constitution’
and promote a vision of Japan as a ‘normal’ country (i.e. one reconciled to the
virtues of maintaining a conventional military and deploying it abroad in defence
of allies), curricular analysis reveals the strong persistence of pacifist rhetoric,
especially in Social Studies (Figure 3.3; see also Appendix II-6). The tone that
this takes is illustrated by this declaration in the current Middle School Course
of Study for Social Studies:
As a consequence of their reflection on the Second World War and other
past wars, as well as their experience of the atomic bombings at the end
of World War II, the Japanese people hope that government action will
never again precipitate the disasters of war, and, trusting in the sense of
justice and good faith of the peace-loving citizens of various countries
to preserve national security, renounce war as a means of resolving
international disputes, and have decided not to maintain land, naval or air
forces or any other kind of armed force. (p. 142) 28
Many textbooks consequently adopt a moralising tone in discussions of Japan’s
role in ‘international society’. The Tokyo Shoseki Civics text highlights ‘Japan’s
pacifist diplomacy’ (Nihon no heiwashugi gaikou), relating it to the experience
of the atomic bombings (p. 194), while in the equivalent Teikoku Shoin text, a
section on ‘the principles of Japanese diplomacy’ is followed by one headed
‘Standpoint as the only victim of atomic attack’. Japan’s energetic promotion
of denuclearisation and global peace (including UN peacekeeping missions) is
highlighted, as is its generosity as an aid donor.
28 The assertion that Japan lacks ‘any kind of armed forces’ is misleading as Japan has the ‘Self
Defense Forces’.
Rethinking Schooling for the 21 st Century:
The State of Education for Peace, Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship in Asia
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