Covert

Greetings all,

A news story has been published today on "education reform" in Japan and
how such reform is being handled by the Japanese government.

Prime Minister Mori is not entirely clear on how he wants to "revise" the
current Constitution-based "Fundamental Law of Education" in Japan, but
it would appear that he is aiming for much tighter reform of state
education, not looser.

According to an earlier news account, Mori intends to include "patriotic
sentiment and respect for Japanese culture and tradition" in the revised
law he is pushing for (Daily Yomiuri, 5 Oct. 2000).

As the article below shows, Prime Minister Mori may actually be turning
back the educational clock more than a century in Japan when it comes to
his so-called "reform package." Mori apparently wants to revise the
current Constitution-based "Fundamental Law of Education" (adopted in
postwar 1947) to be more reflective of the former Shinto religion-based
"Imperial Rescript on Education" (issued in 1890 -- yes, that's *1890*,
folks).

The latter, issued by the then-reigning emperor of Japan, calls on the
nation as loyal, educated "subjects" to "guard and maintain the
prosperity of Our Imperial Throne coeval with heaven and earth"
(quote-unquote).

Which all goes to show that the Japanese government can kick around an
education football just as well as any other government in the world can.

Regards,

Brian Covert
(KnoK NEWS)
Osaka, Japan

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The Daily Yomiuri - 13 October 2000

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/1013po14.htm


MORI REQUESTS EDUCATION LAW REVISION REPORT BY NEXT SPRING

Yomiuri Shimbun


Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Wednesday asked Hirofumi Shimomura, the
vice chairman of a Liberal Democratic Party committee on education, to
compile a report detailing LDP opinions on the revision of the
Fundamental Law of Education by next spring.

While Mori expressed a strong desire to revise the law in the hope that
the LDP will be able to use the revision as a focal point in the House of
Councillors election campaign next summer, LDP ruling coalition ally New
Komeito is strongly opposed to a hasty revision of the law.

Shimomura told Mori that the discussion on the law's revision -- which
was being conducted by an LDP research group on education reform and
chaired by former Education Minister Kosuke Hori -- had been delayed.

Shimomura then told Mori that the LDP should take the revision of the law
seriously, partly to promote Mori as an education reform advocate.

Mori asked Shimomura to draw up a report on the law's revision by next
spring so that the party could use it in the upper house election
campaign next summer.

Mori's willingness to revise the law comes after some LDP members voiced
strong support for the revision.

"We need to consider revising the law as various education problems have
emerged under the current Fundamental Law of Education," said an LDP
member who has long been involved in education matters.

Earlier this month, an LDP faction led by Takami Eto and LDP Policy
Research Council Chairman Shizuka Kamei, with which Mori has aligned
himself in an attempt to strengthen his base within the party, agreed at
a meeting to work to revise the law.

Kamei told Mori that an outline of the revision should be compiled before
the upper house election, and urged him to advance the government's
schedule to work on the revision.

The government intends to revise the law after the next ordinary Diet
session, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa.

Kamei met Mori on Wednesday and said: "Education reform is the raison
d'etre of the Mori Cabinet. We should use a proposal on the revision of
the Fundamental Law of Education as a focal point in the upper house
election campaign."

New Komeito leader Takenori Kanzaki said at a press conference the same
day that he had no reason to give his opinions on what other political
parties would do individually.

Kanzaki then said, "However, as a coalition ally, we will express our
opinion in the discussions."

Kanzaki said in an article in the party's gazette dated Sunday, "It is
overly simplistic and anachronistic to blame the Fundamental Education
Law for (current child-related) problems, and to call for a reevaluation
of the defunct Imperial Rescript on Education."


Copyright 2000 The Yomiuri Shimbun