A note on textbooks...

This is just a tiny comment on the Japanese school textbook "controversy." It is a cliche of foreign views of Japan that the Japanese have not come to terms with their role in the war, and do not understand what happened. This cliche is commonly backed up with the claim that Japanese students are not taught the truth about their history, as evidenced particularly in their school textbooks.

Well, now anyone who wants to have an opinion on this cliche can check the truth of it for themselves. The authorised middle school textbooks (aimed at 12-13 year olds) have been translated and are available online, here. If you have an opinion on this issue, I suggest you go investigate for yourself; you may be pleasantly surprised...