[Editorial] New Japan textbook rewrites history

A new school history textbook reportedly will be published, after the authorization of the Japanese Education Ministry, that greatly distorts facts, such as the description of the Japanese aggression in Asia as the "Asian peoples` national liberation war."

Distorted descriptions of history in Japanese textbooks often have sparked criticism, but the newest one lacks the minimum degree of objectivity inherent to a history book.

According the textbook, World War II aggressor Japan is portrayed as the victim, and its opponents, the Allied Forces, as the assailants. This is a typical case for Japan to rewrite history. There is no denying that Japan provoked the Pacific Theater of World War II with its greedy ambition for territorial expansion, inflicting untold agony on neighboring Asian countries.

The textbook also insists that independence movements surged among Southeast Asian nations under the colonial rule of Western countries because of the Japanese "advance" into these nations. The book also states that the verdicts against Japanese war criminals in the 1946 Far East Military Tribunal were wrong.

The book was written by the Association for Making a New History Textbook, consisting of right-wing figures in Japan. It is scheduled to be approved by the Japanese government as an official history textbook for middle schools starting in 2004.

It is not clear for now how many schools will accept the new version as their official textbook, though it represents the prejudicial view of right-leaning thinkers. Yet Koreans are concerned that when the preposterously distorted facts are propagated without due filtering, their adverse impacts will be tremendous.

We are of the view that if this book actually is used in education, it surely will trigger highly negative reactions against Japan among its neighboring Asian nations, aspiring for peaceful coexistence. This is because we worry that the unjust historical view planted by the wrong textbook could be inherited by posterity.

More worrisome is the fact that Japanese society seems to have little sense of aversion to a move for rewriting history. Reportedly, the Liberal Democratic Party is pressuring the government for approval of the textbook. In this regard, we recall the recent remarks made by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, that Japan is the nation of God, and the controversial statement by Tokyo Mayor Shintaro Ishihara, that might reflect the running viewpoint of Japan`s ruling echelons.

If the projected history book reflects the ultra-right ideology in Japanese society, the Japanese rhetoric for the pursuit of development, reconciliation and peace between Korea and Japan for the 21st century could be no more than diplomatic polemics. It is intolerable for the Japanese Education Ministry to authorize this textbook as an official version of history.