Japan’s textbook inequality: How cultural bias affects foreign language acquisition

Abstract

As an increasingly internationalized society, Japan’s influence globally is on the rise, especially in the lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. However, as an internationalized country, Japanese society still harbours an ‘us’ and ‘them’ attitude, displaying discursive strategies that enable majority views to prevail. A country based on Confucian philosophy and principles, Japan is a well-ordered society where everyone appears to know their place. As is seen in this article, these ideas are reflected in English-language learning materials, where some groups are perceived as less valuable than others, allowing for surreptitious undertones to prevail within such learning resources. The prejudice and bias contained within English education textbooks in Japan, depicting minority groups at the bottom of the totem pole, are discussed, as the success of this nation should not outweigh the discrimination that exists within it. The article notes important educational policy and then provides a historical overview of English education textbooks used in Japan. It follows with a discussion of recent discursive strategies that enable the majority to present negative views about minority out-groups through a more subtle and covert rhetoric within current textbooks.