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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Japan's Lower House OKs Patriotism Bill |
| 2007-05-18 |
| Japan's lower house of parliament approved legislation Friday requiring schools to teach patriotism as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to instill national pride. A house panel approved a set of three bills Thursday after the main education law was revised in December, requiring teachers to encourage patriotism as part of compulsory education for the first time since World War II. The legislation cites "love of country" as a goal of Japanese education, compulsory from elementary through junior high school. The package will be sent to the upper house for further debate beginning next week, and is expected to be passed into law before the current parliamentary session ends late June. Opposition lawmakers have protested the bills, saying they could spread nationalism. Approval also may trigger concerns from neighbors China and South Korea, which suffered under Japan's aggression in the last century. Japan's parliament approved a plan Monday for a referendum on the country's pacifist constitution, a step to boost Abe's drive to give the Japanese military a larger global role. Japan's 1947 constitution, drafted by U.S. occupation officials after World War II, has never been amended. Many Japanese credit the charter's pacifist clause, Article 9, with keeping the country out of war since 1945. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #2 Japan's lower house of parliament approved legislation Friday requiring schools to teach patriotism as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to instill national pride. Hmmm, no Democrat party (or equivalent) in Japan. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2007-05-18 23:37 |
| #1 FREEREPUBLIC/OTHERS > USA ASKS JAPAN TO SHIELD IT FROM MISSLES. SecDef Gates asks Japan to formally declare COLLECTIVE DEFENSE, i.e. an attack on one is an attack on all [ala NATO]. Gates - possible for other regional states to participate. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-05-18 22:17 |