Announcement of Japanese Middle School Social Studies Textbook Review Results... Repeated Claims That 'Dokdo Is Japanese Territory'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Japanese government has decided to include numerous claims in the new Japanese middle school social studies textbooks to be used from next year, stating that "Dokdo is Japanese territory and Korea is illegally occupying it."

According to the Sankei Shimbun on the 24th, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology submitted a written report on the results of the textbook screening for middle school textbooks to the Textbook Authorization and Investigation Council. Among the 17 textbooks approved for the three subjects of Japanese social studies?history, civics, and geography?most included descriptions related to Dokdo reflecting the Japanese government's perspective. Most textbooks referred to Dokdo as "Takeshima," asserting it as Japan's inherent territory and stating that "Korea is illegally occupying it."

The middle school social studies textbooks that passed the previous screening in 2015 also included claims that Korea is illegally occupying Dokdo. At that time, compared to the 2011 screening, the number of such claims tripled, sparking controversy. The Abe Shinzo administration revised the textbook screening standards in 2014 to require the description of the "government's unified view" regarding modern and contemporary history, and the explanatory guide for middle and high school curriculum guidelines (which serves as a standard for textbook production) explicitly stated claims such as "Dokdo is Japan's inherent territory" and "Korea's illegal occupation."

Japan has maintained a textbook screening system since 1947. The education authorities review the textbooks submitted by publishers and provide investigation and screening opinions, and publishers revise the content of the books based on these opinions to pass the screening. Only textbooks that pass the screening can be used in schools.

In this screening, among the nine history textbooks submitted, two, including the publisher Jiyusha's "New History Textbook," were rejected. All submitted textbooks for geography, civics, and maps (two types) passed the screening.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.