[Reporter`s view] Japanese society`s right-leaning tendency

On Feb. 13 in a budget deliberation committee session in the lower house of the Japanese Diet, Education-Science Minister Nobutaka Machimura said a certain school textbook would be adopted on the basis of demand from teachers and that textbook publishing companies seem to be involved in vicious cycle of soliciting writers with certain traits to author textbooks, strictly for the sake of maximizing profits.

The minister`s remarks came in response to a lawmaker`s assertion that textbooks that underlined Japan`s accountability for provoking war should be revised. The Diet member in question was Rep. Shinko Nishimura of the Liberal Democratic Party, who was dismissed as vice self-defense minister because of his controversial call to arm Japan with nuclear weapons.

Minister Machimura`s remarks can be interpreted to mean that because teachers like to use textbooks that stress Japan`s culpability, publishing firms have continued to publish them but that this is not a healthy practice. The statement by Japan`s top official in the field of educational and scientific affairs is viewed as properly reflecting the attitude of most of Japanese society.

Until recently, posters could be seen on the walls of Tokyo subway stations saying, \"Let`s Make National History a Bestseller by Purchasing 600,000 Copies of the Book.\" This history book was authored by Kanji Nishio, a professor at Japan`s electric-communications college. He is also chairman of the association to produce a new history textbook.

Even today, Tokyo`s streets are frequented by right-wing groups who use large, dark trucks equipped with amplifiers to put across their message. Their placards read, \"Traitors Must be Killed for the Sake of the Emperor.\" The slogans connote their nostalgia for the militarism of the past.

The right-wing offensive is also rampant on the Internet. An increasing number of netizens have urged the Japanese government not to offer unwarranted apologies in the face demands from foreign countries.

A senior official at the Korean Embassy in Tokyo said the top echelon of Japanese society doesn`t pay any mind to Korea`s demands that it set the historical record straight. He said the old guard is fearful of rapid changes in Japanese society.

Shim Kyu-Sun ksshim@donga.com