Japans controversial curricula changes

The Japanese Government follows its common practice of the roughly ten-yearly revision of the elementary, junior high and senior high school curricula and announced its introduction for 2020. One controversially discussed subject is the claim of two island groups in the Sea of Japan and in the East China Sea. The education ministry expects the teachers to not teach the students about South Koreas and Chinas demands for the Takeshima Islands and the Senkakus.

Furthermore, the ministry plans to educate the children in kindergarten about the meaning of the national anthem and Japans flag. It sees a need of doing so regardless of the critical voices that emphasize the links between the flag as well as anthem and the past militarism. However, the education ministry says it has no intention of provoking such a connection.

Another announcement is the initiation of computer programming in kindergarten. Mainly, the young students are supposed to learn how to create arithmetical drawings and how the basics of electricity work.

Redaktion (sz)

Sources

Photo credit: Sea of Japan naming dispute by Qrsk075 / CC BY-SA 3.0
Information source: japantoday.com