By Suvendrini Kakuchi
TOKYO, Nov 9 2006 (IPS)

A spate of new cases of student bullying and other school scandals have boosted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plans to revise Japan’s controversial Fundamental Education Reform Bill, which aims to inculcate patriotism in children.

”There is no doubt that Japan’s public education needs a strong injection to bring change. But instead of harping on the glory of the past it is better to develop a long-term vision by focusing on the views of children who need the change,” said Tamotsu Sengoku, director of the private Research Institute of Youth Affairs.

Referring to the tragic cases of suicides reported this year where more than 164 young children have killed themselves after being tormented by their classmates, Sengoku pointed out that revisions to develop a sense of pride in youth may not work.

”Such a stance is archaic and does not suit modern Japan. Children can be taught to value the merits of their current society such as our wealth of technical advances, high-quality animation culture and the very fact that we are a peaceful country,” he pointed out.

Currently a debate is raging in the Diet (parliament) on changing the United States-tutored 1947 Fundamental Law of Education that upholds such values as freedom of speech and equal opportunity but falls short of, say supporters of Abe, instilling a Japanese identity.

Abe, backed by a panel of 17 experts, has promised to create a “beautiful country”, citing the changing global order and the importance of developing a sense of “Japaneseness” among the younger generation as the country marches into an era of active international diplomacy.

Media surveys taken this autumn indicate more than two-thirds of the people support the revisions.

‘’Abe’s education revisions aim to bring back a sense of Japanese identity to our younger generations that have been nurtured on a diet of excessive western influences. Only then can Japan become a truly international country,” said Prof. Takao Mori, who has served on several government education reform panels. Among the changes, which include achieving academic excellence, Abe has also called for new systems that check on teachers’ scholastic ability as well as a third-party assessment of schools which is expected to reduce problems like bullying.

In response, Japanese schools have begun new programmes such as singing the national anthem and punishing teachers or students who refuse to comply saying the policy goes against freedom of thought and brings back war memories.

Some schools have gone a step further. A private kindergarten in Osaka prefecture teaches children to recite the ‘Imperial Rescript on Education’ of the Meiji Era’s military government that made children recite phrases showing filial piety and loyalty to the country.

The education ministry has issued a statement saying the method is “not appropriate”, but the principal and some parents defend the programme.

“There is nothing wrong with reciting words such as show filial piety to your parents, be harmonious as husband and wife,” wrote a 42-year-old mother on her web blog.

Experts explain such sentiments reflect the growing anxiety of adults as they grapple with rising school violence and other social problems, including crime committed by youth, issues that are largely blamed on the decline in social cohesiveness due to loss of traditional values.

On the other hand, though, Abe’s reforms have sent shivers down the spines of some teachers who are fighting hard against what they describe as moves to return to narrow-minded nationalism in schools.

”We are being accused of not loving our country because we oppose moves that represent the past military era that colonised and committed atrocities in Asia That is not true. We want Japan to develop an education system based on freedom of thought,” said lawyer Hajime Kanbara, who is appearing for a group of teachers filing a lawsuit against being forced to sing the Japanese national anthem in schools as was practiced during World War ll.

Prof. Mitsuru Taki, at the National Institute for Education Policy, explains the upcoming changes in the Education Law are looking more like a political tool to support Abe rather than a serious effort to develop an effective academic curriculum that addresses the failings of the school system.

”The education system focuses too heavily on forcing children to do well in their exams rather than develop a vision for the betterment of society. This narrow viewpoint can only be changed by a curriculum that looks at universal values that places Japan as part of this goal not as a separate entity,” he stressed.

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