EvilRB
10-04-2007, 11:27 AM
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070930/ap_on_re_as/japan_textbook_protest
TOKYO - More than 100,000 people protested Saturday in southern Japan against the central government's order to modify school textbooks which say the country's army forced civilians to commit mass suicide at the end of World War II.
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Publishers of history textbooks were ordered in December to modify sections that said the Japanese army — faced with an impending U.S. invasion in 1945 — handed out grenades to residents in Okinawa and ordered them to kill themselves rather than surrender to the Americans.
The amendment order came amid moves by Tokyo to soften brutal accounts of Japanese wartime conduct, but triggered immediate condemnation from residents and academics.
About 110,000 residents and politicians attended Saturday's rallies in the prefecture (state) of Okinawa, said Yoshino Uetsu, one of the organizers.
"We cannot bury the fact that the Japanese military was involved in the mass suicide, taking into account of the general background and testimonies that hand grenades were delivered," Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima told a crowd gathered at a park in Ginowan City.
Accounts of forced group suicides on Okinawa are backed by historical research, as well as testimonies from victims' relatives. Historians also say civilians were induced by government propaganda to believe U.S. soldiers would commit horrible atrocities and therefore killed themselves and their families to avoid capture.
About 500 people committed suicide, according to civic group and media reports.
In recent years, some academics have questioned whether the suicides were forced — part of a general push by Japanese conservatives to soften criticism of Tokyo's wartime conduct.
The bloody battle in Okinawa raged from late March through June 1945, leaving more than 200,000 civilians and soldiers dead, and speeding the collapse of Japan's defenses. The U.S. occupied Okinawa from the end of World War II until 1972.
New textbooks for use in Japanese schools must be screened and approved by a government-appointed panel, which can order corrections of perceived historical inaccuracies. The publishers of seven textbooks slated for use in high schools next year had been asked to make relevant changes and submit them for approval.
An official of the Education Ministry said Saturday that the ministry has no immediate plans concerning the amendment. She spoke on condition of anonymity, citing policy.
Saturday's rally was the largest in Okinawa since the island was returned to Japan by the United States in 1972, Kyodo News agency said. In 1995, 85,000 people took part in a rally following the 1995 rape of a schoolgirl there by three American servicemen, according to the agency.
http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20070930/capt.tok80609300042.japan_okinawa_rally_tok806.jpg ?x=380&y=255&sig=ZH5Ekde06I16KYRz5vZB6w--
typical Japanese approach. this is not the first time. they also rewrote their history books to soften up their reputation in regards to the rape of Nanjing where they pretty much raped and killed tens of thousands of girls under a 6 week interval. the lowest conservative figure for the amount killed is 100,000; highest is 300,000. not only are they still in denial but they're asking china to remove negative memorabilia at the war museums... if you messed up you messed up, don't deny it or else history will repeat it's self.
TOKYO - More than 100,000 people protested Saturday in southern Japan against the central government's order to modify school textbooks which say the country's army forced civilians to commit mass suicide at the end of World War II.
ADVERTISEMENT
Publishers of history textbooks were ordered in December to modify sections that said the Japanese army — faced with an impending U.S. invasion in 1945 — handed out grenades to residents in Okinawa and ordered them to kill themselves rather than surrender to the Americans.
The amendment order came amid moves by Tokyo to soften brutal accounts of Japanese wartime conduct, but triggered immediate condemnation from residents and academics.
About 110,000 residents and politicians attended Saturday's rallies in the prefecture (state) of Okinawa, said Yoshino Uetsu, one of the organizers.
"We cannot bury the fact that the Japanese military was involved in the mass suicide, taking into account of the general background and testimonies that hand grenades were delivered," Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima told a crowd gathered at a park in Ginowan City.
Accounts of forced group suicides on Okinawa are backed by historical research, as well as testimonies from victims' relatives. Historians also say civilians were induced by government propaganda to believe U.S. soldiers would commit horrible atrocities and therefore killed themselves and their families to avoid capture.
About 500 people committed suicide, according to civic group and media reports.
In recent years, some academics have questioned whether the suicides were forced — part of a general push by Japanese conservatives to soften criticism of Tokyo's wartime conduct.
The bloody battle in Okinawa raged from late March through June 1945, leaving more than 200,000 civilians and soldiers dead, and speeding the collapse of Japan's defenses. The U.S. occupied Okinawa from the end of World War II until 1972.
New textbooks for use in Japanese schools must be screened and approved by a government-appointed panel, which can order corrections of perceived historical inaccuracies. The publishers of seven textbooks slated for use in high schools next year had been asked to make relevant changes and submit them for approval.
An official of the Education Ministry said Saturday that the ministry has no immediate plans concerning the amendment. She spoke on condition of anonymity, citing policy.
Saturday's rally was the largest in Okinawa since the island was returned to Japan by the United States in 1972, Kyodo News agency said. In 1995, 85,000 people took part in a rally following the 1995 rape of a schoolgirl there by three American servicemen, according to the agency.
http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20070930/capt.tok80609300042.japan_okinawa_rally_tok806.jpg ?x=380&y=255&sig=ZH5Ekde06I16KYRz5vZB6w--
typical Japanese approach. this is not the first time. they also rewrote their history books to soften up their reputation in regards to the rape of Nanjing where they pretty much raped and killed tens of thousands of girls under a 6 week interval. the lowest conservative figure for the amount killed is 100,000; highest is 300,000. not only are they still in denial but they're asking china to remove negative memorabilia at the war museums... if you messed up you messed up, don't deny it or else history will repeat it's self.