Japan's lower house of parliament yesterday approved a legal reform bill that would require schools to instill "a love of one's country" in children.
With the ruling bloc dominating the upper and lower chambers, yesterday's lower house passage makes the bill's enactment almost certain.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the New Komeito, want to revise Japan's post-World War II education law to boost patriotism among the young.
Teaching patriotism, an idea used to fan militarism under the World War II-era government, has long been taboo in Japan.
The revision, a centerpiece of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's conservative agenda, is strongly opposed by opposition lawmakers, who boycotted yesterday's lower house vote.
The bill is also designed to strengthen coordination among schools, families and communities, while stressing the importance of parental guidance and introducing lifelong learning opportunities.
It was endorsed on Wednesday by a lower house committee, which opposition members also boycotted.
The bill, which must be approved by a majority of both parliamentary houses before it can take effect, will now be sent to the weaker upper house for a separate vote, expected next month.
Because of the bill's emphasis on morality, ethics and patriotism, some opponents compare it to the 1890 Imperial Rescript of Education, which the wartime leaders forced all schoolchildren to memorize and recite before the portrait of the emperor.
The Rescript, which demanded loyalty to parents, respect for the laws and self-sacrifice for the emperor, was banned by US forces after Japan's war defeat.
Opposition leaders yesterday demanded more debate, threatening to boycott the rest of the parliamentary session.
PHISHING: The con might appear convincing, as the scam e-mails can coincide with genuine messages from Apple saying you have run out of storage For a while you have been getting messages from Apple saying “your iCloud storage is full.” They say you have exceeded your storage plan, so documents are no longer being backed up, and photos you take are not being uploaded. You have been resisting Apple’s efforts to get you to pay a minimum of ￡0.99 (US$1.33) a month for more storage, but it seems that you cannot keep putting off the inevitable: You have received an e-mail which says your iCloud account has been blocked, and your photos and videos would be deleted very soon. To keep them you need
The Israeli military has demolished entire villages as part of its invasion of south Lebanon, rigging homes with explosives and razing them to the ground in massive remote detonations. The Guardian reviewed three videos posted by the Israeli military and on social media, which showed Israel carrying out mass detonations in the villages of Taybeh, Naqoura and Deir Seryan along the Israel-Lebanon border. Lebanese media has reported more mass detonations in other border villages, but satellite imagery was not readily available to verify these claims. The demolitions came after Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz called for the destruction of
A US YouTuber who caused outrage for filming himself kissing a statue commemorating Korean wartime sex slaves has been sentenced to six months in prison, a court in Seoul said yesterday. Johnny Somali, 25, gained notoriety several years ago for recording himself doing a series of provocative stunts in South Korea and Japan, and streaming them on platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. South Korean authorities indicted Somali — whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael — in 2024 on public order violations and obstruction of business, and banned him from leaving the country. “The court has sentenced him to six months in
The death toll from a shooting in western Afghanistan rose to 11 on Saturday, after gunmen targeted civilians at a picnic spot in Herat, the provincial authority said. Bullet marks were visible on a wall of the Sayed Mohammad Agha Shia shrine, while bloodstains marked a blanket abandoned at the scene. “Eleven people have been recorded dead and eight others wounded from Friday’s incident, with the condition of two of the wounded reported as critical,” Herat’s information office said in a statement. The update raises a toll of seven killed provided on Friday by the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs
RSS