4. History Education In Japan

Abstract

This chapter gives an overall picture of Japanese history education, with prime emphasis on the content of teaching. It presents background information on the aspect of 'process' in history education, i.e. the disseminating side of historical knowledge, before moving onto the case study on the disputes over Japanese history textbooks in the 1980s. The chapter looks at the historical perspectives of Japanese history education in order to give general ideas about the contemporary educational environment surrounding the teaching of history in the country. It explains the design, structure and general trend of the national history curriculum guidelines that were used in the 1980s in connection with the case study, and the writing of history textbooks. The chapter focuses on the authorization of schoolbooks or so-called 'textbook screening' and the adoption of textbooks/teaching materials.Keywords: Japanese history education; Japanese history textbooks; teaching materials; textbook screening