By Lu Donghong
魯東紅
A "War Atrocities History Exhibition" organized by Japanese civil groups was held in Yokohama, Japan, from August 8 to 15. Focusing on Japan's wartime aggression during WWII, the exhibition showcases historical materials related to the Nanjing Massacre, Unit 731, comfort women, and other topics. History should serve as the best textbook. However, eight decades after WWII ended, under the deliberate efforts of Japan’s right-wing conservative forces, the narrative of WWII history in Japanese textbooks increasingly deviates from the truth, blatantly challenging historical justice and human conscience.
8月8日至15日，由日本民間團體主辦的“戰(zhàn)爭加害歷史展”在日本橫濱市舉行，聚焦二戰(zhàn)期間日本對外國的加害歷史等內(nèi)容，展出了南京大屠殺、731部隊、慰安婦等相關(guān)史料。歷史本該是最好的教科書。然而，80年后的今天，在日本右翼保守勢力的“苦心經(jīng)營”下，日本教科書中有關(guān)二戰(zhàn)歷史的敘事不斷偏離真相，公然挑戰(zhàn)歷史正義和人類良知。
Since the 1950s, Japanese textbooks have undergone three systematic regressions. The first round of distortions in 1955 saw new textbooks remove critical accounts of the Pacific War, avoiding references to Japan's invasion of China. The second round in the 1980s altered the phrase "invasion of North China" to "advanced into North China," thereby providing a veneer of legitimacy to militaristic aggression. The third round, from the 1990s to the present, has been even more egregious. It not only glorifies the invasion as a "self-defensive operation" aimed at "liberating Asia," but also re-characterizes forced labor as "participation," while adding assertions that the Diaoyu Dao is Japan's "inherent territory."
自20世紀50年代以來，日本教科書呈現(xiàn)三次系統(tǒng)性倒退。1955年首輪篡改中，新版教材刪除對太平洋戰(zhàn)爭的批判性敘述，回避提及日本入侵中國；1980年代第二輪篡改將“侵略華北”改為“進出華北”，為軍國主義行徑披上合法性外衣；1990年代至今的第三輪篡改更為惡劣，不僅將侵略戰(zhàn)爭美化為“解放亞洲”的“自衛(wèi)行動”，更將強征勞工改為“參與”，并增加了有關(guān)中國釣魚島是日本“固有領(lǐng)土”的表述。
Starting April this year, new textbooks have been gradually adopted in junior high schools nationwide in Japan, with three main troubling trends in their portrayal of the war.
今年4月起，日本全國初中陸續(xù)啟用新版教材，其中對戰(zhàn)爭的敘述方式主要呈現(xiàn)三大惡劣動向。
The first is the blurring and stigmatization of significant historical events. Currently, about 80% of the textbooks used in Japanese junior high schools are published by two major publishers, namely Tokyo Shoseki and Teikoku-Shoin. Both of them seriously downplay Japan's wartime aggression and liability. Regarding the Nanjing Massacre, Teikoku-Shoin merely refers to it as the Nanjing Incident, avoiding mention of the identities of the perpetrators. The textbooks compiled by Tokyo Shoseki include a brief footnote on the Nanjing Massacre, but go so far as to claim that the number of victims remains "undetermined and still under study," blatantly denying the internationally recognized historical facts. Concerning the July 7th Incident (Lugou Bridge Incident) in 1937, the Tokyo Shoseki version textbook New Social History describes it as an "armed conflict between Japanese and Chinese forces," while the Reiwa Shoseki version National History Textbook (7th Edition) distorts the Japanese invasion as a "conflict between both sides," attempting to shift the blame for instigating the war onto China.
重大事件表述的模糊化與污名化。目前，日本初中采用的教材約80%是由東京書籍與帝國書院兩大出版社所編，在戰(zhàn)爭加害責任記敘上嚴重弱化。涉及南京大屠殺，帝國書院用“南京事件”一筆帶過，且對加害者身份避而不談；東京書籍雖在腳注中稍有提及“南京大屠殺”，卻拋出“受害人數(shù)尚無定論，仍在研究中”的論調(diào)，公然否定國際社會公認的歷史事實。圍繞盧溝橋事變，東京書籍出版的《新編 新社會 歷史》將事變描述為“日中兩軍武力沖突”，令和書籍出版的《國史教科書（第7版）》把日軍侵略行徑歪曲為雙方?jīng)_突，妄圖將挑起戰(zhàn)爭的罪責甩給中方。
Second, the overall narrative of the war has been deliberately fragmented in terms of textbook structure. Most Japanese history textbooks forcibly separate the invasion of China from 1931 to 1945 and the Pacific War, narrating them as distinct China-Japanese War and Pacific War events. This creates a false historical view of a "passive response to war," downplaying Japan's proactive initiation of aggressive war and its subjective malevolence.
教科書結(jié)構(gòu)安排上，戰(zhàn)爭整體脈絡被人為割裂。多數(shù)日本歷史教材將1931至1945年侵華戰(zhàn)爭與太平洋戰(zhàn)爭硬生生分開，通過“日中戰(zhàn)爭”“太平洋戰(zhàn)爭”分立敘事，營造“被動應戰(zhàn)”的虛假歷史觀，淡化日本主動挑起侵略戰(zhàn)爭的主觀惡性。
The third is that the strategy of the right-wing camp has shifted towards promoting an overall rightward tilt of textbooks. Whereas previously Japanese right-wing forces focused on expanding the adoption of extremely right-leaning textbooks, they now aim to push for the overall rightward shift of all textbooks, which has become the core issue of the current textbook controversy in Japan. During the textbook approval process, right-wing influence has grown steadily. Some textbook authors maintain close ties with right-wing groups, resulting in politically biased content that makes it difficult to fairly and objectively restore historical truth.
右翼陣營策略轉(zhuǎn)變，推動教科書整體右傾化。以往日本右翼勢力致力于推動極端右傾教材的“擴大采用”，如今則轉(zhuǎn)向推動所有教科書整體右傾，這成為當下日本教科書問題的核心癥結(jié)。在教科書審定過程中，右翼勢力影響力與日俱增，部分教科書編寫者與右翼團體往來密切，導致教材內(nèi)容充斥政治偏見，難以公正客觀地還原歷史真相。
One of the reasons behind the issues with Japanese textbooks lies in their unique review system. The mechanism whereby private publishers first compile and then submit textbooks for review was originally intended to ensure objectivity in history education. However, political interference by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has degenerated into a form of "historical filtering." In 2021, the Japanese government labeled the term "military comfort women" as an "inappropriate expression" and forcibly ordered revisions to already published textbooks. This manipulation of the WWII narrative has turned textbooks into a fertile ground for right-wing forces to infiltrate and distort historical understanding.
日本教科書問題的原因之一在于其特殊審查制度。民間出版社先編后審的機制本應保障歷史教育的客觀性，但文部科學省的政治干預已異化為“歷史過濾”。2021年日本政府將“隨軍慰安婦”定性為“不恰當表述”，并強制修改已發(fā)行教材。這一操弄二戰(zhàn)敘事的行徑使教科書成為右翼勢力滲透歷史認知的溫床。
History cannot be tampered with and justice will not be absent. The issue of Japanese textbooks concerns not only the accuracy of historical understanding but also the stability of the regional security landscape. Japan should face up to history, abandon its erroneous historical views, cease its wrongful practices regarding textbooks, take concrete actions to apologize to the peoples of victimized nations, and assume the historical responsibility it ought to bear. Only in this way can Japan regain the respect and trust of the international community.
歷史不容篡改，正義不會缺席。日本教科書問題不僅關(guān)乎歷史認知的正確性，更關(guān)系到地區(qū)安全格局的穩(wěn)定性。日本應正視歷史，摒棄錯誤的歷史觀，停止在教科書問題上的錯誤行徑，以實際行動向受害國人民道歉，承擔起應有的歷史責任。唯有如此，日本才能重新贏得國際社會的尊重與信任。
(The author is from Renmin University of China)
（作者單位：中國人民大學）