Japanese Textbooks Deleted the Figure of the Number of Forced Drafts

The Japan Times reported on March 31 that the publisher deleted the detailed figures of the victims of forced draft during the Japanese occupation in its own account in the Japanese elementary Social Studies textbook.

According to the official inspection of textbooks (for 2005 application) that the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology announced on March 30, one publisher of a sixth grade Social Studies textbook writes, “In an attempt to fill the shortage of domestic labor, about 700,000 people from Chosun and 40,000 from China were brought over to work at various mines under harsh conditions,” concerning the section in the textbook with the content of Japan ruling Asia.

The result of the inspection announced that day was free of any particular mentioning of this subject, however, it was discovered that the publisher deleted the figure of the number of forced drafts and replaced it with a rather vague expression of “many people,” and has currently reapplied for inspection at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology.

Avoiding the direct use of the expression “forced draft” and making the vast number of victims ambiguous was an attempt to patch up the crimes of the Japanese anti-anthropologic action of forced drafting 740,000 people during the Japanese occupation.

The publisher admitted that outside forces were a factor in pushing them for a deletion by stating, “Outside forces were questioning ‘What is the basis of these draft figures?’ and ‘Was everyone entirely forced drafted?’ which were difficult to answer. As a result, it was a decision made within the company after a discreet discussion.”

Concerning this matter, the Japan Times reported, “Each publisher is taking full and thorough consideration in advance about controversial expressions due to the nation’s strict inspection procedure.”

Some experts who are aware of the repulse from Korea and China whenever there has been an inspection of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology related to the Japanese Occupation seem to believe that the officials might have induced the publishers to voluntarily delete the part.

Hun-Joo Cho hanscho@donga.com