18 May 2005
Japan’s History
Textbook Distortion
Japan
distorted her history textbooks once again that it draws both provoking
neighboring countries and loosing nationwide trustworthy education system. It is
concerned about world history’s accuracy and its tone that there is no mention
of the number of victims from wartime atrocities which are about 300,000
civilians mass killing and at least 20,000 “comfort women” raped by Japanese
troops during World War II (Miyazaki). For the external concerns,
Japan followed Machiavelli’s “Praised
or Blamed” methods that she did not care ruining a few foreign countries’
relations in order to achieve her statehood (40). For the internal concerns,
Japan used Bacon’s “The Idols of the Theater” that she deluded students with her
own creation like “stage-plays,” using the method of “The Idols of the
Marketplace” which is stating, “words plainly force and overrule the
understanding, and throw all into confusion” (421). After Japan’s false
education, students fall into “The Idols of the Tribe” that they measure the
world history by her false assertion. Therefore, Japan must
correct their history textbooks from its whitewashing glosses not only restoring
external relations, but also relieving internal students who are facing on chaos
of history textbook and who are falling into “The Four Idols.”
Works Cited
Bacon, Francis. “The Four Idols.” Jacobus
417-433.
Jacobus,
Lee A. A World of Ideas. 6th ed. New
York: St. Martin’s,
2002.
Machiavelli, Niccolo. “The Qualities of the
Prince.” Jacobus 35-50
Miyazaki, Jamie. “Textbook Row Stirs Japanese
Concern.” BBC News
on the Web 13 Apr. 2005. 02 May
2005
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4439923.stm>.