Japan must acknowledge warmonger past

If Japan cannot draw lessons from its warmonger past, it will repeat its notorious history, says an article of the People’s Daily. Excerpt:

The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology released a plan to modify textbooks in Japanese schools recently. The Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun printed an editorial that said if a textbook can’t fall in line with the overall target of education and fostering patriotism, the textbook has great defects, irrespective of the accuracy of the specific accounts in the book.

To dominate historical facts with “patriotism” shows the epidemic spread of radical right-wing thinking in Japanese society. Admitting the notorious, invasion-centered war history is the first step for Japanese people to develop healthy patriotism.

Justice and facts cannot be sacrificed to foster patriotism. Otherwise, the patriotism will transform into parochial nationalism. A nation blind to its history cannot win respect in the international community.

The only way out for Japan is to acknowledge its war history and reflect on the causes of the war. Germany has set a good example for Japan on how to win recognition of the world and start a new chapter of history. But the Japanese politicians seldom heed Germany’s example.

Textbooks decide how a nation’s people look at its history. If Japanese textbooks are filled with distorted history, the country will accumulate negative energy to overthrow the post-war international order. It will be impossible for Japan to coexist with the international community in harmony.