Japanese civil group slams gov't for glorifying aggression by revising textbooks

A Japanese civil group in Kyoto Prefecture has recently criticized the government for revising the history textbooks, saying the move aims to glorify and distort its wartime aggression.

It also urged the authorities to face up to the true history and promote world peace.

In Fukuchiyama, a city in northern Kyoto Prefecture, the Fukuchiyama Peace Committee has recently held a screening of a documentary to expose the attempts by the right-wing forces to press for changes in history textbooks.

"These textbooks are not based on historical facts. Education has been completely distorted. We need to sound the alarm and make more Japanese citizens understand the current state of education," said Hideaki Kajiwara, organizer of the event.

"I used to be a senior high school teacher. The issue is severely affecting the junior high schools now. The same problem exists in senior high schools as only textbooks approved by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology can be used," said Norio Mizutani, another organizer.

This year, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology approved a new batch of textbooks, with some modern history sections omitting war crimes like the Nanjing Massacre and military comfort women, and boasting militarism.

"This textbook deliberately uses the term 'Greater East Asia War,' a term contemporary historians have avoided. The term is used by those who forget they are the perpetrators and try to claim that the war of aggression is justified. This textbook adopts the term 'Greater East Asia War' on purpose. It's perplexing that textbooks using such terminology passed the review," said Yoichi Tamai, a participant of the event.

"Japan's responsibility for the aggression in these textbooks is becoming increasingly vague, with the possibility of it being completely erased. The record of the aggression itself is also diminishing," said Kajiwara.

Many participants believe Japan must face up to the suffering it inflicted on Asia during World War II and that acknowledging this history is a responsibility of historical education.

"When criticized, we shouldn't deny our actions by saying 'I didn't do that.' If we're shown that we did or said this and if we think we were wrong indeed, we should admit them openly, admit the crimes we committed. We need teachers and schools like this," said Tamai.

"We wish that Japan will earnestly honor its commitments in its postwar pacifist constitution, promise never to wage war again, possess no weapons, and not to resolve conflicts by wars and to remain committed to world peace. This is the original intention of Japan's pacifist constitution," said Mizutani.

Japanese civil group slams gov't for glorifying aggression by revising textbooks

Japanese civil group slams gov't for glorifying aggression by revising textbooks

China expects all parties in Colombia will steadfastly implement the peace agreement to achieve national stability, peace and development in all aspects, said China's United Nations envoy Geng Shuang at a Security Council meeting on the peace process in Colombia on Tuesday.

At the meeting, the United Nations Security Council deliberated on Colombia's progress in implementing the peace agreement reached between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in August 2016.

"We expect and believe that all parties in Colombia, under the leadership of President Petro and the Colombian government, will demonstrate firm determination in implementing the agreement, overcome various difficulties and challenges, and form powerful resultant forces in the peace-building process, to ultimately achieve national stability, peace and development in all aspects," Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the U.N. Security Council meeting.

According to the Chinese envoy, China proposed that Colombia should continuously unleash the dividends of development, consolidate the achievements of peace talks, and enhance its security capabilities.

"We support the Colombian government in effectively implementing policies to disarm armed groups and combat criminal gangs, increasing security force deployment in areas lacking effective control, and better protecting vulnerable groups such as former armed personnel, women, children, and ethnic minorities," Geng said.

In 2016, FARC, the largest anti-government guerrilla group in Colombia, signed a peace agreement with the government, ending over five decades of armed conflicts. However, some of its members splintered off, continuing to attack government forces, leading to a deadlock in the peace talks.

China expects Colombia's firm implementation of peace deal to achieve national stability: envoy