Defense booklet for students could fuel prejudice against countries, critics say

As Japan steps up military spending, the Defense Ministry's efforts to promote its policies among young people are raising concerns among educators.

Critics warn that the move could undermine the pacifist principles of Japan's Constitution, revive pre-World War II militarist education and fuel prejudice against certain countries, potentially leading to discrimination and bullying in schools.

An Osaka-based civic group campaigning against textbooks that promote militarism has launched an online petition opposing the Defense Ministry's distribution of a children's version of its Defense White Paper to elementary, junior high and high school students.

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Launched on Aug 29, the petition had collected more than 37,000 signatures as of Tuesday, with more than 100 university professors, lawyers and other professionals voicing support.

The group said on Monday that it had begun sending the petition to education boards in all 47 prefectures and planned to hold talks with the defense and education ministries later this month.

Masahiro Iga, the group's co-chair and an elementary school teacher in Osaka, warned that distributing the booklet to students could open the door to a revival of militarist education.

Before World War II, Japan used the Imperial Rescript on Education and state-authored textbooks to instill militarist ideology in young people, bringing immense suffering to people in Japan and across Asia, he said.

In its petition to education boards nationwide, the group warned that this year's Defense White Paper labels China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Russia as "security threats", potentially fostering hostility and xenophobia among students and leading to discrimination and human rights violations in schools.

The Defense Ministry has published a simplified version of the white paper for young readers online each year since 2021. The 2024 edition was the first distributed to elementary schools.

Policy promotion

Tatsuo Sekiguchi, head of a civic group in Nagasaki, said the ministry was using the booklet to promote the government's defense policies by portraying neighboring countries as threats and highlighting the need to strengthen military capabilities.

Rather than fostering hostility toward other countries, schools should teach children about Japan's past aggression and the suffering it inflicted on people in China, the Korean Peninsula and elsewhere, to help prevent such tragedies from recurring, he said.

The 34-page 2026 edition devotes three pages to the meals and daily lives of Self-Defense Forces personnel. It also details SDF equipment, insignia, ranks and ways to join the force.

In a statement published last month, the All Japan Teachers and Staffs Union urged the Defense Ministry to halt distribution of the booklet to elementary, junior high and high schools.

The union criticized the booklet for overemphasizing military power and SDF recruitment while neglecting diplomacy and peaceful conflict resolution. The material could fuel prejudice and discrimination against children from foreign backgrounds, it added.

The union questioned whether the distribution was consistent with the pacifist Constitution and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which calls for education that promotes peace, tolerance and friendship among peoples.

Nobuko Murata, a member of the union's central executive committee, said that although the 2026 edition mentions "diplomacy" for the first time, the reference is largely meaningless given its emphasis on military deterrence.

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Yasuko Igarashi, a Social Democratic Party member of Tokyo's Itabashi Ward Assembly, voiced similar concerns, warning that the booklet could fuel prejudice and bullying against local elementary school students of Chinese background.

Some local education boards have also refused to cooperate with the distribution, Japanese media reported.

Aomori's education board declined to help the ministry contact schools, saying the booklet contains material resembling SDF recruitment promotion.

Kanagawa's board also refused to distribute the booklet or serve as an intermediary, citing concerns over discrimination and bullying.

Gunma's board opted not to distribute it to public schools, citing the need to maintain political neutrality in education.

Contact the writers at houjunjie@chinadaily.com.cn