How Modern Japan Is Described in Textbooks around the World
(Select a Country to review excerpts)
Europe ……………
Austria,
France,
Germany,
Switzerland,
UK
Asia ……………… China,
India,
Indonesia,
Korea,
Malaysia,
Russia,
Singapore,
Vietnam
North America ……
Mexico,
USA
South America ……
Brazil
ASIA
Vietnam
Title:
Ministry of Education & Training: History – Grade 12
Pages: 68-74
Publisher: Nha Xuat Ban Giao Duc Education Publishing House, Hanoi, Vietnam
Excerpt:
Political situation and Japanese government’s domestic policies
After World War II, the Allied Powers agreed that Japan would be placed under American occupation and supervision…A new Japanese constitution with progressive articles was promulgated on 3 November 1946: the People’s rights of freedom and democracy would be acknowledged and ensured…The Law on agrarian reform was enacted and implemented 1946-1949. Each land owner was allowed no more than 3 hectares of cultivated land and the rest would be purchased by the government and sold to the farmers. The Law of Zaibatsu dissolution was enforced during 1946-1948.
These innovative changes have helped destroy economic, political and social foundations of the feudal and military regime. Today, Japan is a constitutional monarchy, but in fact, it is a Parliamentary monarchy. The power is in the hands of the six great conglomerates: Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, Fuji, Daiichi, and Sanwa.
1.
From the end of World War II to 1993, the Liberal Democracy Party (the political party of the bourgeoisie) has been Japan’s ruling party. The Japanese ruling clique, in tight cooperation with the US, attempted to curtail the people’s rights of freedom and democracy stipulated in the 1946 Constitution, and has amended Article Number 9 (Land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war forces, will never be maintained. The right to declare wars will not be recognized) [sic]. They proceeded with re-armament and revived Japanese militarism in various forms.
In the post war period, the Japanese people’s struggle for peace, democracy and social progress continued to increase.
The Japanese Communist party was founded in 1922, but it emerged as a legal entity in 1946 and became one of the great political parties with strong influences in Japan…The Japanese Communist Party and Social Democrats Party were unanimous to mobilize workers and people to take part in the annual Spring and Autumn rebellions (in 60s, 70s) against the amendment of the Constitution. They
also fought for social progress and improvement of the living standards …The Worker Strike Movement of Japan developed vigorously, involving workers from various industries. 34.000 police officers were sent by the Japanese government to suppress the strike. At last, the Japanese ruling party had to meet the demands for higher wages and restore the rights of the workers to strike.
Japan was heavily dependent upon the U.S for all political and military issues and colluded closely with the U.S. On September 8th, 1951, the US -Japan Security Treaty was signed between the two nations to guarantee that the USA would act to defend Japan from any military attack “under the American nuclear defense”. According to this treaty Japan also accepted the stationing of US troops on Japanese land. The US-Japan Security Treaty was granted an extension in 1960 and again in 1970. The Treaty is now open-ended. This Treaty enabled the US-Japan Alliance to act against Socialist countries and movements of national liberation in the Far East. Japan became a “strategic base” for the U.S in a “worldwide strategy” against revolutions in the 70s and early 80’s. There are 179 American military bases with 61.000 troops in Japan; most notably, there are 79 American military bases in Okinawa with 35,000 American troops.
With its powerful economic and financial might, Japan approaches and expands its markets all over the world. After the war, Japan has been called “an economic empire”, an empire that spreads its economic power worldwide, especially, in Southeast Asia.
1. The three largest conglomerates are Mitsubishi, Mitsui, and Sumitomo, which own 206 super-national companies, totaling 1/3 national workers and 40% of the country’s capital.
