Japan's ODA in the schools
Covert
Hi again all,
A Japanese newspaper carried this interesting story yesterday about the
promotion of "overseas development assistance" in Japanese school
curriculums.
Sounds nice on the surface, but there is one glaring omission: Japan has
come under heavy fire in years past for the way its ODA is "distributed"
to so-called underdeveloped nations around the world.
More often than not, the Japanese government grants this ODA to projects
that Japanese corporations are involved in overseas. And guess what: Lots
of those Japanese corporations working in those poorer countries have
contracts directly or indirectly with the Japanese government. Many
people in and outside Japan have been blasting the Japanese government
for this practice for years.
Funny how these kinds of facts conveniently get omitted from news stories
-- and classroom curriculums as well.
The Japanese Education Ministry's motivation for pushing ahead with this
dubious curriculum in public schools becomes apparent in the last
paragraph of the story.
Brian Covert
(KnoK NEWS)
in Osaka, Japan
---------------------------
[Daily Yomiuri - 20 June 2000]
MATERIALS TO TEACH KIDS ABOUT NATION'S ODA
The Foreign Ministry has produced educational materials designed to help
children better understand the role Japan plays in funding aid programs
through official development assistance, and has distributed the
materials to 3,000 primary schools nationwide.
Subtitled "To Make Everyone Smile," the materials are a 22-minute video
and a teacher's booklet, and is designed for sixth-grade students,
ministry officials said.
The video discusses Japan's economic recovery after World War II and
international assistance given to Japan after the Great Hanshin
Earthquake in Kobe. It also focuses on the difficulties facing developing
countries, which account for about 80 percent of all the nations of the
world.
The fact that ODA from Japan, the largest ODA contributor, has been used
to build bridges and schools in many countries is also explained in the
video.
Following the advice of schoolteachers, the video also contains a number
of quizzes. The booklet accompanying the video gives three examples of
how to use the material in the classroom, the officials said.
With the nation in the grip of a prolonged economic recession, some have
criticized the giving of massive amounts of ODA. However, one teacher who
used the materials in class said that, by using the material, students
came to think of Japan as a good country and could take pride in being
Japanese.
[Copyright 2000 - The Yomiuri Shimbun]
A Japanese newspaper carried this interesting story yesterday about the
promotion of "overseas development assistance" in Japanese school
curriculums.
Sounds nice on the surface, but there is one glaring omission: Japan has
come under heavy fire in years past for the way its ODA is "distributed"
to so-called underdeveloped nations around the world.
More often than not, the Japanese government grants this ODA to projects
that Japanese corporations are involved in overseas. And guess what: Lots
of those Japanese corporations working in those poorer countries have
contracts directly or indirectly with the Japanese government. Many
people in and outside Japan have been blasting the Japanese government
for this practice for years.
Funny how these kinds of facts conveniently get omitted from news stories
-- and classroom curriculums as well.
The Japanese Education Ministry's motivation for pushing ahead with this
dubious curriculum in public schools becomes apparent in the last
paragraph of the story.
Brian Covert
(KnoK NEWS)
in Osaka, Japan
---------------------------
[Daily Yomiuri - 20 June 2000]
MATERIALS TO TEACH KIDS ABOUT NATION'S ODA
The Foreign Ministry has produced educational materials designed to help
children better understand the role Japan plays in funding aid programs
through official development assistance, and has distributed the
materials to 3,000 primary schools nationwide.
Subtitled "To Make Everyone Smile," the materials are a 22-minute video
and a teacher's booklet, and is designed for sixth-grade students,
ministry officials said.
The video discusses Japan's economic recovery after World War II and
international assistance given to Japan after the Great Hanshin
Earthquake in Kobe. It also focuses on the difficulties facing developing
countries, which account for about 80 percent of all the nations of the
world.
The fact that ODA from Japan, the largest ODA contributor, has been used
to build bridges and schools in many countries is also explained in the
video.
Following the advice of schoolteachers, the video also contains a number
of quizzes. The booklet accompanying the video gives three examples of
how to use the material in the classroom, the officials said.
With the nation in the grip of a prolonged economic recession, some have
criticized the giving of massive amounts of ODA. However, one teacher who
used the materials in class said that, by using the material, students
came to think of Japan as a good country and could take pride in being
Japanese.
[Copyright 2000 - The Yomiuri Shimbun]