Chinese-Japanese

History Textbook Dispute

Yan Kaidi 4S1Yan Tianqi 4S1

Content Background Dispute Case Study Reasons

Background controversial content in government-appr

oved history textbooks used in the secondary education

Background School textbooks in Japan are not written

by the Ministry of Education. Instead, the textbooks are written and pu

blished by several major private companies.

Background However, each local education board has

the final authority to select which textbooks can be used in their jurisdiction from the approved list.

Dispute Critics claim that the government

textbook authorization system has rejected textbooks that depict Imperial Japan in a negative light.

Dispute Countries like China criticized Japan for

whitewashing the nature of military aggression in WWII.

Downplays events like Nanjing Massacre, ‘Comfort Women’

Ask Japan to modify certain contents

Dispute Although Japanese Society for History

Textbook Reform published New History Textbook intending to promote a comprehensive view of Japan in WWII

This textbook was still criticized by China and other Asian countries for downplaying the Japan invasion

Dispute On the other hand, the new textbook was

also opposed by many Japanese historians They feel that the new textbook should not

emphasize so much on Japanese wartime activities

Hence, this textbook was used by only 0.039% of junior high schools in Japan

Dispute Relationship between Japan and other

Asian counties becomes tense due to history textbook issue

In 2005, with the approval of new Japanese history textbooks, people in neighboring countries broke out anti-Japanese demonstrations

Dispute The Anti-Japanese demonstrations of

2005 were a series of demonstrations which were held across most of East Asia in the spring of 2005.

Mainly in China, South & North Korea

Dispute Across China, businesses with connection

s to Japan were vandalized by protesters

Dispute

Dispute The official PRC attitude towards the

demonstrations is considered to be enigmatic. On the one hand, the government allowed the

demonstrations to occur in the first place. While the PRC policed the protests, some

observers believe that measures to rein in the violence and property damage were deliberately ineffective.

Dispute In Japan, no large-scale anti-PRC rallies

or demonstrations took place Nevertheless, more and more people

canceled their travel plans to China, and some doubt was raised about the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing

Dispute Besides, The Japanese government

demanded an apology from the PRC government

Japanese government asks compensations for the damage made to the properties of their diplomatic missions

Dispute The Japanese foreign minister once

visited Beijing to meet his counterpart. the Japanese negotiators demanded an

apology and compensation for damage against Japanese property and people.

That demand was rejected by Li Zhaoxing, the Chinese foreign minister.

Case study Nanjing Massacre in China’s

textbooks1. In China’s textbook, there are

descriptions on the fall of the Capital, Nanjing and the massacre in the city.

2. The knowledge of the massacre is an important part of history study of Chinese students.

Nanjing Massacre in Japan’s textbooks

1. Before 1982, the textbooks were quite biased, and even tried to fade the meaning of invasion.

2. After 1982, the content on the massacre increased relatively, but still very ambiguous.

Case study

Case study

Case study Also, the estimates of death tolls

varies dramatically China claims that at least 340

thousand people were killed during the massacre

On the other hand, Japan only admits about 100000 to 200000 death tolls.

Reasons Nationalism is the main reason for the

history textbook dispute between China and Japan

China, once being invaded by Japan, will not tolerate any whitewashing of Japanese military invasion

Consider this as an insult to its national dignity

Reasons Some Japanese, especially those right-

leaning extremists, still consider Japan as one of the most powerful nations in the world

Will never apologize for any mistake it has made before

Reasons Also, some people believe that CCP used anti-

Japanese sentiments to promote nationalism, hence consolidating its political power in China

anti-Japanese sentiment in China is higher among the current generation than among the Chinese who actually lived through the occupation of the Second Sino-Japanese War

Referencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Japanese_sentiment_in_China

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_history_textbook_controversies

http://www.wellesley.edu/Polisci/wj/China/Nanjing/nanjing3.html

http://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/discussionpapers/2008/Shibuichi.html

http://www.ahrchk.net/news/mainfile.php/ahrnews_200103/1595/

Thank You!