Japan's conservative government chipped away at two pillars of the country's postwar pacifism, requiring schools to teach patriotism and upgrading the defense agency to a full ministry for the first time since World War II.
The measures, enacted on Friday in a vote by parliament's upper house, form key elements of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to bolster Japan's international military role, build up national pride and distance the country from its post-1945 war guilt.
The votes were important victories for Abe's government, which has suffered a sharp drop in popularity since taking office in September over the perception that he has not paid enough attention to domestic issues.
The education reform bill trig-gered controversy, both because of its sensitive content and because of disclosures this week that the government had planted officials posing as ordinary citizens at "town meetings" discussing the measure.
The scandal and other issues inspired a spate of no-confidence motions against Abe and some members of his Cabinet, but they were crushed in parliament, which is dominated by the ruling party coalition.
The upgrading of the defense agency under the Cabinet Office to a full ministry passed parliament without significant opposition, propelled by deep concern in Japan over North Korean missile and nuclear weapons development.
The upgrade, to be effected early next year, gives Japan's generals greater budgetary powers and prestige -- a reversal for a military establishment that has kept a low profile since being discredited by Japan's disastrous wartime defeat.
The education measure -- the first change to Japan's main education law since 1947 -- calls on schools to "to cultivate an attitude that respects tradition and culture, that loves the nation and home country."
The reform reflected concerns voiced by Abe and Education Minister Bunmei Ibuki that Japan's long stretch of economic prosperity has eroded the morals and cooperative spirit of prewar Japanese.
"The new education law will allow children to acquire a good understanding of their heritage and become intelligent and dignified Japanese," ruling party lawmaker Hiroo Nakashima said during the upper house debate.
Critics, however, attacked the move as harkening back to Japan's war-era education system, in which children were instructed to support the country's imperialist military and sacrifice themselves for the emperor and nation.
Opponents on Friday voiced fears that the changes could lead to schools grading students on their patriotic fervor -- possibly as a prelude to making Japan an aggressive nation once again.
"The government is putting the future of Japanese children at risk and turning Japan into a country that wages war abroad,'' said Ikuko Ishii, a Communist Party lawmaker.
The call for more patriotism in schools coincides with a push by some local governments to crack down on teachers and students who refuse to stand for the national flag or sing an anthem to the emperor at school ceremonies.
Postwar Japan has been solidly pacifist under the 1947 US-drafted Constitution, which forbids Japan from using force to settle international disputes and only allows Tokyo to maintain fighting forces for self-defense. The US bases some 50,000 troops in Japan under a security alliance.
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