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
European countries and international organizations have widely condemned Israeli air strikes on Lebanon which have resulted in more than 1,000 civilian casualties, including children, and have caused damage to civilian infrastructure.
Israel launched large-scale air raids across Lebanon on Wednesday, saying it had carried out 100 strikes within a matter of minutes on positions they claimed belonged to the Hezbollah group.
Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health reported more than 300 had been killed in the attacks, with roughly 1,150 wounded.
The attacks came after a two-week ceasefire agreement was reached by the United States and Iran. However, both Israel and the United States have maintained Lebanon is not included in the truce.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Thursday accused Israel of violating international law to carry out the air strikes on Lebanon, calling the attacks "a shame on the conscience of all humanity".
Earlier on Thursday, Albares announced that Spain would reopen its embassy in Tehran in the hope of achieving peace in the region.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that Israel had "disrespected" the two-week ceasefire with Iran by carrying out the strikes.
Meloni also warned of further economic turmoil if U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran flare up again, and said the European Union should consider a temporary suspension of the Stability and Growth Pact, an agreement which ensures economic stability within the European Union, in order to handle the potential monetary consequences.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday warned that Israel's military operations in Lebanon could cause the entire peace process as a whole to fail, telling a press conference in Berlin "that must not happen."
Merz announced that the German government will resume direct talks with Iran in order to support the newly agreed two-week ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.
He also stated that a window of opportunity for a negotiated solution has opened for the first time since the outbreak of the conflict, though he cautioned that the situation in the Middle East remains "fragile."
The UK's Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Thursday that she is "deeply troubled" by Israel's escalating attacks on Lebanon, expressing hope that Lebanon will be included in the current ceasefire arrangement.
Cooper also reiterated the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, saying that the effective closure of the vital shipping chokepoint had been "deeply damaging for the world", while stressing how crucial the passageway is to the entire global economy.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot described the Israeli strikes on Lebanon as "intolerable."
In a radio interview, Barrot said France strongly condemns "the massive strikes" which seriously undermine the temporary ceasefire reached earlier between the United States and Iran. The European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Thursday that Israel's latest strikes on Lebanon, which killed hundreds overnight, could not be considered as an act of self-defense.
"Israel's right to defend itself does not justify inflicting such massive destruction," Kallas said in a post on the social media platform X. She warned that the strikes risk further destabilizing the region and added that Israel's actions were putting the U.S.-Iran ceasefire under severe strain.
Despite this widespread criticism, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Thursday there would be no ceasefire in Lebanon, signaling that Israel will continue its military operations while pursuing planned negotiations with Beirut.
"There is no ceasefire in Lebanon," Netanyahu said in a video address to residents of northern Israel, adding: "We continue to strike Hezbollah with force and we will not stop until we restore your security."
Netanyahu said he had instructed his cabinet to open direct talks with Lebanon following what he described as repeated requests from the Lebanese government.
The negotiations, which are expected to begin next week in Washington, aim to disarm Hezbollah and reach a "historic and lasting" peace agreement, Netanyahu added. Delegations will be led by the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States.
Israel and Lebanon have no formal diplomatic relations and technically remain in a state of war.
European Leaders widely condemn Israeli attacks on Lebanon
