JAPAN: The Japanese government sent a controversial "patriotism bill" to parliament yesterday in a move criticised by some as a step back toward the nationalism of the pre-war period.
The bill, which will amend the 1947 Fundamental Law of Education, promotes "public spirit and respect for tradition", and says children should be taught to "treasure" the nation.
If passed, the legislation will be a personal triumph for prime minister Junichiro Koizumi and mark another milestone in the quiet transformation of Japan's education system, which began in 1999 with the legalisation of the national anthem and flag.
The formal cabinet approval follows months of haggling between coalition partners New Komeito and Mr Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party over the nuances of patriotism, which almost torpedoed the bill.
An earlier version said that patriotism is "a mind which loves the nation" but several MPs from New Komeito, which is the political front of the lay-Buddhist organisation Soka Gakkai, demanded that "love" be replaced with "treasures".
Politicians from New Komeito said the word "love" was too redolent of the militaristic educational culture of pre-war Japan. The final version says that schools should teach children to "respect tradition and culture and cherish the nation and homeland that have nurtured them".
Conservatives have for years demanded that schools reinforce traditional values and teach children to "love" and respect their nation, but have until recently run into staunch opposition from teachers' unions and left-wing politicians.
With both lobbies now severely weakened, the government grasped the educational nettle as part of sweeping changes to the postwar architecture of the Japanese state, including the constitution and the self-defence forces.
The formal enactment of the bill came the same day as 21 politicians from the ruling coalition visited the controversial war memorial, Yasukuni Shrine, in a move also likely to anger Japan's Asian neighbours. China and South Korean have criticised Mr Koizumi for boosting state power and leading the country to the right.
The new bill was immediately criticised by some teachers who predicted it would badly damage the secular foundation of Japan's 60-year-old education system.
"The government is hoping it can simply brainwash kids into loving Japan," said Kimiko Nezu, who was recently suspended for refusing to stand for the national anthem at a secondary school graduation ceremony.
"All this does is to teach unquestioned obedience to authority."
Several media commentators called the proposed amendment a necessary antidote to "leftist" educational bias, but the Asahi newspaper said: "We are concerned that codifying a call for patriotism in the law could lead to imposing a uniform way of loving the nation on children."