[일본-노트] 교육법안비교 1890, 1947, 2007

Reform Forward or Backward?

Basic Education Law 1947 and 2007

Bee Yun Jo (2014.9.16) 

Focusing on the debate whether Abe's reform is an effort to reindoctrinate patriotism and breach the spirit of post-war Constitution...

Meiji Law on Education: 1890

Essential Points

Focus on imperialistic moral -  Worship of the Emperor, Service for the nation -  Diminished individual freedom

- Signed by Emperor Meiji of Japan on 30 October 1890

- Purpose & Implementation:

1) to articulate the principles of education on the Empire of Japan.

2) The 315 character document was read aloud at all important school events, and students were required to study and memorize the text.

3) Mobilization purposes: loyalty and moral force to support the rise of militarisn and ultranationalism in the prewar years; Confucian virtues incorportated.

“Should emergency arise, offer yourselves courageously to the State; and thus guard and maintain the prosperity of Our Imperial Throne coeval with heaven and earth”

4) Overall, to educate individuals to loyal surbordinates of the state:

“The attitude that education should be for the purpose of the State rather than for the liberation of the individual has permeated the entire system.”^[각주:1]

“Eradication of thoughts based on individualism and liberalism, and the firm establishment of a national moral standard with emphasis on service to the state.”^[각주:2]

Basic Education Law 1947

Essential Points

Initiated by GHQ under the US Occupation. -  Esteem “individual value” and nurture an “independent spirit”   To establish “peaceful and democratic state and society” (Article1) - Abolishment of Meiji Law on Education (June 19th, 1948)

In comparison to the Meiji Education Law, the 1947 law reflects the efforts:

-          To adopt the 1946 Peace Constitution - the overeall pacifist, democratic emphasis of the constitution

-          To dismantle the wartime militarist feudal regime in Japan

-          To influence the sentiment of masses towards the wartime regime’s repressive and anti-democratic methods.

-          To replace “the pre-war education system which was based on conservative Confucian ideology and the glorification of the Japanese imperial system”^[각주:3] – “virtue of filial piety, loyalty to the emperor and love for the state”

-          To establish mandatory free education for all young people for nine years emphasizing the “full development of personality” (Article 1)

-          To abolish state control on education: “Education should not be subject to improper control, but shall be directly responsible to the whole people”(Article 10); teachers are the “servants of the whole community”(Article 6).

-          To prevents discrimination against race, religion, gender, social position, economic status, etc – egalitarian values emphasized

Basic Education Law 2006 (revised in December 2006, issued in June 2007)

Essential Points

Initiated by the first Abe Cabinet - Debate on the possible breach on the spirit of post-war constitution, by revoking nationalism within the Education Law - 18 Articles in total

Many critiques have pointed out the traits of patriotism in the new reform bill as concrete evidences to Abe’s aim to breach the spirit of country’s post-war constitution. Some of the main arguments are as the following:

THE DEBATE

Aiming to revise patriotism?

-        Article 1: Revised Article 1 now states that education shall aim at the “full development of personality” and nurture their citizens, sound in mind and body, who have the necessary qualities for building “a peaceful and democratic state and society.”

-      Article 2: “…Foster an attitude to respect our traditions and culture, love the country and region that nurtured them, together with respect for other countries and a desire to contribute to world peace and the development of the international community.”

=> In reference to Article 2, critiques point out that Abe declared the goal of education as to develop students’ “respect for the nation’s tradition and culture and fostering an attitude of love for the nation and the homeland that cultivated them.” Citing declining education skills and deteriorating morality, Abe declared that his aim was “to nurture people with ambitions and create a country with dignity”. Such phrases, critiques argue, are nationalism and patriotism that have been muted in the previous 1947 law.

-    Elimination of Article 6 and 10 of the 1947 Education Law:

=> Many critiques have also pointed out that the new law aims to increase state control on education as the new law has deleted the two essential features of 1947 law: “Education should not be subject to improper control, but shall be directly responsible to the whole people.”(Article 10), and Article 6 defined teachers as “servants of the whole community” in the 1947 Education law.

=> Replaced with: “The schools prescribed by law shall be of a public nature, and only the national government, local governments, and juridical persons prescribed by law shall be entitled to establish them” (Article 6)

	Meiji Law on Education	Basic Education Law 1947	Basic Education Law 200
Patriotic spirit	O	X	O
	Emphasis on the “virtue of filial piety, loyalty to the emperor and love for the state”	Emphasis on “full development of personality” (Article 1) * Abe administration now denounces this as the “cause for the moral decay of Japanese society.”[각주:4]	Emphasis to ““to nurture people with ambitions and create a country with dignity”, “respect for the nation’s tradition and culture and fostering an attitude of love for the nation and the homeland that cultivated them.” (Article 2)
State Control	O	X	O
		Article 10 declared: “Education should not be subject to improper control, but shall be directly responsible to the whole people.” Article 6 defined teachers as “servants of the whole community”.	Deleted the Article 10 and 6 phrases of the 1947 law. Replaced with “The schools prescribed by law shall be of a public nature, and only the national government, local governments, and juridical persons prescribed by law shall be entitled to establish them” (Article 6)

Or Just an update to fit 21^st Century Japan?

While Abe’s take on the reform is a hotly debated topic, a critical review of the 2007 law illustrates that the new law does not necessarily mean a return to the past. The review of  article 1, 2, 3, 4 incorporate the efforts to update the education law to fit the 21st century.
 

Article 1 and Article 2

Article 1 Education shall aim for the full development of personality and strive to nurture the citizens, sound in mind and body, who are imbued with the qualities necessary for those who form a peaceful and democratic state and society.  Article 2  To realize the aforementioned aims, education shall be carried out in such a way as to achieve the following objectives, while respecting academic freedom：  （1） to foster an attitude to acquire wide-ranging knowledge and culture, and to seek the truth, cultivate a rich sensibility and sense of morality, while developing a healthy body.  （2） to develop the abilities of individuals while respecting their value; cultivate their creativity; foster a spirit of autonomy and independence; and foster an attitude to value labor while emphasizing the connections with career and practical life.  （3） to foster an attitude to value justice, responsibility, equality between men and women, mutual respect and cooperation, and actively contribute, in the public spirit, to the building and development of society.  （4） to foster an attitude to respect life, care for nature, and contribute to the protection of the environment.  （5） to foster an attitude to respect our traditions and culture, love the country and region that nurtured them, together with respect for other countries and a desire to contribute to world peace and the development of the international community.

 

Article 3 and 4 of the law further specify that all citizens should be given the equal opportunities for education:

Article 3 and 4

Article 3 Society shall be made to allow all citizens to continue to learn throughout their lives, on all occasions and in all places, and apply the outcomes of lifelong learning appropriately to refine themselves and lead a fulfilling life. Article 4 （1） Citizens shall all be given equal opportunities to receive education according to their abilities, and shall not be subject to discrimination in education on account of race, creed, sex, social status, economic position, or family origin.  （2） The national and local governments shall provide support in education to persons with disabilities, to ensure that they are given adequate education in accordance with their condition.  （3） The national and local governments shall take measures to provide financial assistance to those who, in spite of their ability, encounter difficulties in receiving education for economic reasons.

 

In overview, it  may be arguable that the new law serves as to update the law to fit 21st century Japan. The new law serves as:

1)   emphasis on the value of tradition, history, and culture (community) in the modern era of individualism (Article 2)

2)  emphasis to adopt the demographic changes of the aging society – transition to a lifelong egalitarian learning society (Article 3)

3)  emphasis on entrepreneurship and creativity (Article 2)

4)  emphasis on the impacts of internationalization, modern media, and the need to build a harmonious society (Article 2)

 

Emphasis	Articles                                               ⓒBee Yun Jo, http://bjo.co.kr, 2014
Tradition, history, culture, love for nation	Article 2 “To foster an attitude to respect our traditions and culture, love the country and region that nurtured them”
Demographic Change	Article 3 “to continue to learn throughout their lives, on all occasions and in all places, and apply the outcomes of lifelong learning appropriately to refine themselves and lead a fulfilling life.”
Entrepreneurship and Creativity	Article 2 “foster an attitude to value labor while emphasizing the connections with career and practical life”; “cultivate their creativity”
Internationalization	Article 2 “together with respect for other countries and a desire to contribute to world peace and the development of the international community”

References

·      Basic Education Law http://law.e-gov.go.jp/htmldata/H18/H18HO120.html (in Japanese)

·      http://www.mext.go.jp/english/lawandplan/1303462.htm  (in English)

·      Education in the Empire of Japan: The Imperial Rescript on Education.

·        MEXT, Basic Act on Education (Act No. 120 of December 22, 2006） http://www.mext.go.jp/english/lawandplan/1303462.htm (in English) (Accessed Sep 16, 2014)

·      The politics of Structural Education Reform by Keith A. Nitta

·      UNESCO, World Data on Education, 7^th edition, 2010/11, Available at http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/WDE/2010/pdf-versions/Japan.pdf, p.1

1. An Office of Strategic Services document on Japanese education, 1941 [본문으로]
2. Speech by the mister of education, 1941 [본문으로]
3. Joe Lopez, ‘Japan’s “Education reform” to indoctrinate nationalism?’, (3 January 2007) Avaialble at http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2007/01/japa-j03.html (accessed September 9, 2014) [본문으로]
4. Joe Lopez, ‘Japan’s “Education reform” to indoctrinate nationalism?’, (3 January 2007) Avaialble at http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2007/01/japa-j03.html (accessed September 9, 2014) [본문으로]