NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Japanese history textbooks controversy

The Japanese history textbooks controversy is a long-running controversy about how historical events are presented in official Japanese school textbooks. The controversy deals with how Japan's aggression in the Sino-Japanese War and in World War II are portrayed, particularly in Japan. Download high resolution version (1024x768, 241 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 241 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Beijing listen? (Chinese: åŒ—äº¬; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Pei-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Peking) is the capital city of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Japanese secondary school students in uniform Education has been and is an important issue in Japanese society. ... Textbooks are defined as a manual of instruction, a standard book in any branch of study. They are further defined by both the age of the person who is to study the text and the classification of the subject matter itself. ... There were two wars known as the Sino-Japanese War (between China and Japan): The First Sino-Japanese War occurred between 1894 and 1895, primarily over control of Korea. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air, August 9, 1945 after the Allied atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. ...

In 2005, the debate boiled over into multinational public protest demonstrations with the publishing of an official Japanese textbook that critics claim downplays or "whitewashes" the nature of Japan's military attacks. Censorship is the systematic use of group power to broadly control freedom of speech and expression, largely in regard to secretive matters. ...

The textbook was created by the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform, a conservative Japanese organization. It refers to the Nanjing Massacre as a mere "incident," de-emphasizes the subject of the Chinese and Korean comfort women, and avoids the contemporary issues surrounding Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni shrine in honor of dead Japanese soldiers, where the enshrined include the names of a number of convicted and executed war criminals. The textbook has been publicly denounced by Japan's leading teachers' union and is being used by 18 of the nation's 11,102 junior high schools. [1] // Overview Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform (æ–°ã—ã„æ´å²æ•™ç§‘æ›¸ã‚’ã¤ãã‚‹ä¼š) is a group founded in 1997 to promote a more sympathetic view of Japanese history. ... The Nanking Massacre (Chinese: 南京大屠殺, pinyin: Nánjīng Dàtúshā; Japanese: 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu), also known as the Rape of Nanking and sometimes in Japan as the Nanking Incident (南京事件, Nankin Jiken), refers to what many historians recognize as widespread atrocities committed by the Japanese army in and around Nanking (now Nanjing... Comfort women is a euphemism for women forced to serve in military brothels in Japanese-occupied countries during World War II. Comfort women were from the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, and other Japanese-occupied countries/regions. ... Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi (å°æ³‰ ç´”ä¸€éƒŽ Koizumi JunichirÅ, born January 8, 1942) is a Japanese politician and the 87th, and current, Prime Minister of Japan. ... The main building of Yasukuni Shrine The Yasukuni Shrine (lit. ... A war crime is a punishable offense, under international law, for violations of the law of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ...

Critics in several countries, including the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Republic of Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and Australia claim that the textbooks sanitize their reporting of the wartime event. These countries claim that it is not historically justifiable to glorify Japanese wartime activities, or to omit alleged atrocities. The contemporary Japanese government has been criticised by Malaysia, Singapore and Germany, as well as organisations such as the United Nations. The textbook controversy plays a role in continuing demands by North Asian nations that the Japanese government apologize for wartime atrocities, though Japanese officials and the Emperor have repeatedly issued apology statements. See List of war apology statements issued by Japan The Republic of China (Traditional Chinese: ä¸è¯æ°‘åœ‹; Simplified Chinese: ä¸åŽæ°‘å›½; Wade-Giles: Chung-hua Min-kuo, Tongyong Pinyin: JhongHuÃ¡ MÃnGuÃ³, Hanyu Pinyin: ZhÅnghuÃ¡ MÃnguÃ³, Taiwanese POJ: Tiong-hoÃ¢ BÃ®n-kok) is a multiparty democratic state that is effectively composed of the island groups of Taiwan, the Pescadores, Quemoy... Historiography is writing about rather than of history. ... The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945 and now made up of 191 states. ... His Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan The Emperor of Japan (å¤©çš‡ tennÅ) is arguably Japans titular head of state and the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. ... 1970s 09/29/1972. ...

The Japanese government has demanded an apology from China for the protests, claiming that the protests are primarily motivated by hostile or racist anti-Japanese sentiment. An African-American drinks out of a water cooler designated for use by colored patrons in 1939 at a streetcar terminal in Oklahoma City. ... Anti-Japanese sentiment refers to the view of the Japanese people or of the Japanese nation with suspicion or hostility. ...

Since the beginning of protests the controversy has grown to include wider Japan-related issues, such as the bid by Japan for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and land disputes. In the PRC, several Japanese-themed shops and malls have been attacked and vandalized by angry protesters. Many of these were Chinese-owned and operated. Several Japanese nationals residing in China have been reported as injured. In recent years there have been many calls for reform of the United Nations. ... A session of the Security Council in progress The United Nations Security Council is the most powerful organ of the United Nations. ...

To date this controversy has focused on how textbooks in Japan are dealing with Japan's wartime aggression. How Japan's aggression is portrayed in China and other countries that were subject to it is not central to the controversy. However, this broader context which treats the subject in Japan and China may become more relevant if Japan presses its offer to China of a joint commission to review textbooks in both countries.

People's Republic of China (mainland China)

In March 2005, demonstrations broke out in several cities in the People's Republic of China, including Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhengzhou, Shenyang, Ningbo, Harbin, Chengdu, Luoyang, Qingdao, Changsha, Hefei, Beijing, Wuhan, Fuzhou, Shanghai and Hong Kong. In some cases, demonstrators attacked and damaged Japanese embassies, consulates, supermarkets, restaurants (mostly franchise businesses owned by Chinese) as well as people, prompting the Japanese government to demand an apology and compensation for damages. Wikinews logo. ... Chongqing (Simplified Chinese: 重庆; Traditional Chinese: 重慶; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Chungking; literally Double Celebration) is the largest and most populous of the Peoples Republic of Chinas four provincial-level municipalities, and the only one in the less densely populated western half... Location within China CITIC Plaza Guangzhou fireworks display at night Guangzhou (Simplified Chinese: å¹¿å·ž; Traditional Chinese: å»£å·ž; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kuang-chou; Jyutping: Gwong2zau1; Yale: GwÃ³ngjaÅ«) is the capital of the Guangdong Province in southern China. ... Evening Skyline of Shenzen. ... Zhengzhou (Simplified Chinese: 郑州; Traditional Chinese: 鄭州; pinyin: ) formerly called Zhengxian, is located 24 km south of the Huang He (Yellow River). ... Location within China Major districts of Shenyang. ... Ningbo (Simplified Chinese: 宁波; Traditional Chinese: 寧波; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ning-po; literally Tranquil Waves) is a seaport sub-provincial city in the Zhejiang province of China. ... Harbin on Chinas map Harbin (Simplified Chinese: å“ˆå°”æ»¨; Traditional Chinese: å“ˆçˆ¾æ¿±; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ha-erh-pin; Russian Ð¥Ð°Ñ€Ð±Ð¸ÌÐ½ Kharbin) is a sub-provincial city in north-east China and the capital of the Heilongjiang Province. ... Location within China Chengdu (Chinese: æˆéƒ½; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Cheng-tu) is the capital of Sichuan province and a sub-provincial city, located in southwest China, and bordering Tibet. ... Luoyang(洛阳) (Simplified Chinese: 洛阳; Traditional Chinese: 洛陽; pinyin: ) is a city in Henan province, China. ... Location within China Qingdao listen (Simplified Chinese: 青岛; Traditional Chinese: 青島; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ching-tao; Postal System Pinyin: Tsingtao) is a port sub-provincial city in the Shandong province of China, a naval base, and a major industrial city located at the southern tip of the Shandong Peninsula... Changsha (Simplified Chinese: 长沙; Traditional Chinese: 長沙; pinyin: Ch ng shā; Wade-Giles: Chang-sha) is the capital of Hunan, a province of Southcentral China, located on the lower reaches of Xiangjiang river, a branch of Chang Jiang. ... Hefei (Chinese: 合肥; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hofei) is the capital of Anhui Province of China. ... Beijing listen? (Chinese: åŒ—äº¬; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Pei-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Peking) is the capital city of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Location within China Modern and ancient Wuhan (Simplified Chinese: æ¦æ±‰; Traditional Chinese: æ¦æ¼¢; pinyin: ) is the capital of Hubei province, and is the most populated city in central China. ... Fuzhou (Chinese: 福州; pinyin: Fúzhōu; Wade-Giles: Fu-chou; also seen as Foochow or Fuchow) is a city on the coast of China, the largest city in and capital of Fujian province. ... Shanghai (Chinese: ä¸Šæµ·; pinyin: ; Shanghainese IPA: ), situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta, is Chinas largest city. ... A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one nation state present in another nation state to represent the sending state in the receiving State. ... A consulate (or consular office) is a form of diplomatic mission in charge of issues related to individual people and businesses, in other words issues outside inter-governmental diplomacy. ... Exterior appearance of typical supermarket (Albertsons) Supermarket produce section A supermarket is a store that sells a wide variety of goods including food and alcohol (where permitted), medicine, clothes, and other household products that are consumed regularly. ... Toms Diner, a restaurant in New York familiarized by Suzanne Vega and the television sitcom Seinfeld A restaurant is an establishment that serves prepared food and beverages to be consumed on the premises. ... Franchising (from the French for free) is a method of doing business wherein a franchisor licenses trademarks and methods of doing business to a franchisee in exchange for a recurring royalty fee. ... Business refers to at least three closely related commercial topics. ...

The official PRC attitude towards the demonstrations is considered by foreign observers as enigmatic. On the one hand, the government allowed the demonstrations to occur in the first place. While the PRC policed the protests, some observers believe that measures to rein in the violence and property damage were deliberately ineffective. However, the PRC has only indirectly reported the current protests in state-owned media, holding back its ability to expose the events to a national audience. State-owned media in the PRC has nevertheless maintained extensive coverage of anti-Japanese demonstrations in South Korea, as well as distant but related events, such as the European commemoration of the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp. Internet censorship has been extended to subjects related to the protests. Many universities prohibited students from coming onto or leaving the campus. Mass transit systems in close proximity to protest rally points were shut down. However, this policy was contradicted in several cities, including Beijing, where city buses were used by the municipal authorities to ferry students into the protests. Students at Tsinghua and Peking Universities also reported receiving phone calls from university authorities encouraging them to demonstrate. In the second half of April 2005, the People's Daily published several articles to calm down the protestors, and the Ministry of Public Security declared that "unauthorized marches were illegal". [2] Slave laborers in the Buchenwald concentration camp (Elie Wiesel is second row, seventh from left). ... A concentration camp is a large detention center created for political opponents, aliens, specific ethnic or religious groups, civilians of a critical war-zone, or other groups of people, often during a war. ... The National Peoples Congress of the Peoples Republic of China made a law of Internet censorship in mainland China. ... A taxi serving as a bus Public transport comprises all transport systems in which the passengers do not travel in their own vehicles. ... Tsinghua University 自強不息，厚德載物 (Self-discipline and social commitment) Tsinghua University (Simplified Chinese: 清华大学; Traditional Chinese: 清華大學; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ching-hua Ta-hsüeh) is one of the most prestigious universities in China. ... Peking University åšå¦å®¡é—®æ…Žæ€æ˜Žè¾¨ Peking University or Beijing University (pinyin BÄ›ijÄ«ng DÃ xuÃ©), colloquially Beida (åŒ—å¤§, pinyin bÄ›idÃ ), is one of the most prestigious universities in China. ... The Peoples Daily (Chinese: 人民日报; pinyin: ) is a Simplified-Chinese-language newspaper published not only in mainland China but worldwide with the circulation of 3 to 4 million. ...

PRC police tactics are perceived to be similar to those utilized when demonstrations were held outside the American embassy in Beijing after NATO forces accidentally bombed the PRC embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in May 1999. The flag of NATO NATO 2002 Summit The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, D.C., on April 4, 1949. ... Belgrade (Serbian, Ð‘ÐµÐ¾Ð³Ñ€Ð°Ð´, Beograd listen?), is the capital (2003â€“) of Serbia since 1404, Serbia and Montenegro and Yugoslavia (1918â€“2003). ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all south Slavic languages) is a term used for three separate but successive political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

The slogan "patriotism is not a sin" (爱国无罪 àiguó wúzuì: literally translated, "it is not a crime to be patriotic") is popular, albeit in a sarcastic sense, among the PRC protesters. This slogan is used to describe a justification of violence against Japanese individuals, on the basis of reciprocating Japanese atrocities in China during the Second World War.

Political observers on the US National Public Radio have argued that the controversy is being allowed by the PRC government partly in order to further a multitude of political goals. [3] American news outlets CNN and Time Magazine have also pointed out that historical inaccuracies are not limited to Japanese textbooks, but that Chinese government-made textbooks are equally rife with omissions and non-neutral point of view. [4] Cases of questioned text include the Great Leap Forward which caused 30 million Chinese deaths ("the People suffered major losses"), China's 1979 invasion of Vietnam, and the Cultural Revolution ("Lots of appalling events happened"). Tibet is a subject given scant mention except by foreign press, [5] and Xinjiang remains detached to the ongoing controversy. US,Us or us may stand for the United States of America us, the oblique case form of the English language pronoun we. ... NPR logo NPR redirects here. ... CNN or Cable News Network is a cable television network that was founded in 1980 by Ted Turner & Reese Schonfeld [1] [2] (although he currently is not recognized in CNNs official history). ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... The Great Leap Forward (Simplified Chinese: 大跃进; Traditional Chinese: 大躍進; pinyin: ) was a campaign by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of the Peoples Republic of China from 1958 to early 1960 aimed at using mainland Chinas plentiful supply of cheap labor to rapidly industrialize the country. ... A poster during the Cultural Revolution The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (Simplified Chinese: æ— äº§é˜¶çº§æ–‡åŒ–å¤§é©å‘½; Traditional Chinese: ç„¡ç”¢éšŽç´šæ–‡åŒ–å¤§é©å‘½; pinyin: ; literally Proletarian Cultural Great Revolution; often abbreviated to æ–‡åŒ–å¤§é©å‘½ wÃ©n huÃ dÃ gÃ© mÃ¬ng, literally Great Cultural Revolution, or simply æ–‡é© wÃ©n gÃ©, literally Cultural Revolution) in the Peoples Republic of China... Tibet (Tibetan: à½–à½¼à½‘à¼‹, Bod, pronounced pÃ¶ in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: è¥¿è—, pinyin: XÄ«zÃ ng) is a region and former independent country in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... Xinjiang (Chinese: æ–°ç–†; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hsin1-chiang1; Postal Pinyin: Sinkiang; literal meaning: New Frontier; Uyghur: ), full name Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ...

Japanese response to Chinese protests

In Japan, no large-scale anti-PRC rallies or demonstrations have taken place, although a handful of far-right wing protestors demonstrated outside PRC consulates. Nevertheless, more and more people canceled their travel plans to China, and some doubt was raised about the 2008 Summer Olympics, scheduled to be held in Beijing. The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be held in Beijing in the Peoples Republic of China from August 8, 2008 to August 24, 2008, with the opening ceremony to take place at 8 p. ...

The Japanese foreign minister visited Beijing hastily to meet his counterpart on April 17. The Xinhua News Agency reported that in the meeting held in Beijing between PRC and Japanese foreign ministers, the Japanese minister offered an apology for Japan's wrongdoings during World War II. However, Xinhua omitted in its report that in this meeting the Japanese negotiators demanded an apology and compensation for damage against Japanese property and people. That demand was rejected by Li Zhaoxing, the Chinese foreign minister. Meanwhile, the Japanese foreign ministry officially denied the news reports from the state-controlled Xinhua News Agency, which reports little about the on-going patriotic demonstrations in major Chinese cities. April 17 is the 107th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (108th in leap years). ... The Xinhua News Agency (Simplified Chinese: æ–°åŽç¤¾; Traditional Chinese: æ–°è¯ç¤¾; pinyin: ), or NCNA (New China News Agency), is the official press agency of the government of the Peoples Republic of China and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC. It is one of the two news... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air, August 9, 1945 after the Allied atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. ... Li Zhaoxing ( Chinese: 李肇星; pinyin: ) (born October 1940) is the foreign minister of China. ...

The Tokyo Stock Exchange recorded a sharp plunge on Monday, April 18, and correlations between the demonstrations and Sino-Japanese economic ties are raised in the financial industry. The main trading room of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where nowadays the trading is done by computers The Stock Exchange occupies a narrow site in Tokyos securities district The Tokyo Stock Exchange (abbreviated TSE) is a stock exchange market located in Tokyo, Japan. ... April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ...

Japanese Premier Junichiro Koizumi expressed his deep remorse for the suffering that Japan caused other Asian nations during World War II at the Asia-Africa Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 22. However, 81 Diet members visited Yasukuni Shrine hours before, causing more controversy inside and outside Japan about the true attitude of Tokyo on this subject. [6] [[7]]. Koizumi met with Hu Jintao on April 23. [8] Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi (å°æ³‰ ç´”ä¸€éƒŽ Koizumi JunichirÅ, born January 8, 1942) is a Japanese politician and the 87th, and current, Prime Minister of Japan. ... The Bandung Conference was a meeting of Asian and African states, most of which were newly independent, organized by Indonesia, Burma, Ceylon( Sri Lanka), India, and Pakistan. ... Map of Indonesia showing Jakarta Jakarta (also Djakarta or DKI Jakarta, formerly known as Batavia) is the capital and the largest city of Indonesia, located on the northwest coast of the island of Java, at 6Â°11â€² S 106Â°50â€² E. It has an area of 650 kmÂ² and a... April 22 is the 112th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (113th in leap years). ... The main building of Yasukuni Shrine The Yasukuni Shrine (lit. ... The modern skyline of Tokyo is highly decentralized. ... HÃº JÇntÄo (born December 21, 1942) became General Secretary of the Communist Party of China on November 15, 2002. ... April 23 is the 113th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (114th in leap years). ...

Republic of China (Taiwan)

Although in the past the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan has been severely critical of the content of Japanese history textbooks, in the wave of 2005 revisions of the textbooks, the ROC has, for the most part, been much quieter than the PRC. This is indicative of the relatively high level of tension in the relationship between the PRC and the ROC and the comparatively good relations between the ROC and Japan. Earlier in 2005, Japan and the United States had issued a joint declaration calling for a "peaceful solution" to the Taiwan issue, a declaration which angered the PRC, which protested that this declaration constituted interference in "internal affairs". The Republic of China (Traditional Chinese: ä¸è¯æ°‘åœ‹; Simplified Chinese: ä¸åŽæ°‘å›½; Wade-Giles: Chung-hua Min-kuo, Tongyong Pinyin: JhongHuÃ¡ MÃnGuÃ³, Hanyu Pinyin: ZhÅnghuÃ¡ MÃnguÃ³, Taiwanese POJ: Tiong-hoÃ¢ BÃ®n-kok) is a multiparty democratic state that is effectively composed of the island groups of Taiwan, the Pescadores, Quemoy... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... Taiwan Strait Area The political status of Taiwan is controversial over questions about whether Taiwan should remain the Republic of China, become part of the Peoples Republic of China, or become an independent Republic of Taiwan. ...

Republic of Korea (South Korea)

South Korea vigorously protested the official approval of the 2005 Japanese history textbooks. South Korean Minister of Trade Kim Hyun-Chong canceled a planned visit to an Asian trade summit in Japan [9].

On May 6, 2005 in a meeting between President Roh Moo-hyun and Liberal Democratic Party's Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe, President Roh demanded Japan takes step to properly educate its citizens. He told Takemura that the teaching of history should not be treated as the academic matter and freely discussed but as the political matter and with the responsibility falling on the government to control it. [10] May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... Roh Moo-hyun (born September 1 (August 6 in lunar calendar), 1946) has been the President of South Korea since February 25, 2003. ... The Liberal Democratic Party is the largest Japanese political party. ...

Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)

In 2005, North Korea condemned the official approval of the revision of Japanese textbooks. One official was quoted as calling the textbooks "philistinism peculiar to Japan, a vulgar and shameless political dwarf" [11].

Specific issues

Nanjing Massacre

The actions of Japanese soldiers during the occupation of the city of Nanjing still breed anger in many Chinese today. In the 1937 Japanese takeover of Nanjing, most evidence points to an estimated 300,000 people killed. More were raped and tortured. However, the Japanese textbook in question does only briefly mention to the atrocities committed and refer to the Nanjing Massacre as an "incident" while failing to mention the specifics. Other textbooks are more direct. The Nanking Massacre (Chinese: 南京大屠殺, pinyin: Nánjīng Dàtúshā; Japanese: 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu), also known as the Rape of Nanking and sometimes in Japan as the Nanking Incident (南京事件, Nankin Jiken), refers to what many historians recognize as widespread atrocities committed by the Japanese army in and around Nanking (now Nanjing... Nanjing (Chinese: å—äº¬; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Nan-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Nanking), formerly known as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province and a prominent historical and cultural city in China. ... The Nanking Massacre (Chinese: 南京大屠殺, pinyin: Nánjīng Dàtúshā; Japanese: 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu), also known as the Rape of Nanking and sometimes in Japan as the Nanking Incident (南京事件, Nankin Jiken), refers to what many historians recognize as widespread atrocities committed by the Japanese army in and around Nanking (now Nanjing...

Comfort women

Initially believed to be a method to curb random Japanese soldiers raping civilians, the Comfort Women were mainly Korean, Chinese, Filipino and Vietnamese women coerced or forced by the Japanese military to work as sex slaves during World War II. The Japanese military had stated at the time that the women were voluntary prostitutes, but overwhelming evidence suggests otherwise. Comfort women is a euphemism for women forced to serve in military brothels in Japanese-occupied countries during World War II. Comfort women were from the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, and other Japanese-occupied countries/regions. ... Sexual slavery is a special case of slavery which includes various different practices: forced prostitution (which can include religious prostitution) single-owner sexual slavery slavery for primarily non-sexual purposes where sex is common or permissible In general, the nature of slavery means that the slave is de facto available... Prostitution is the sale of sexual services, such as oral sex or sexual intercourse, for money. ...

Forced enlistment

At the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War and World War II, Korea was already occupied by Japan. Many Korean men were ordered to enlist in the Japanese army during World War II. There were two wars known as the Sino-Japanese War (between China and Japan): The First Sino-Japanese War occurred between 1894 and 1895, primarily over control of Korea. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air, August 9, 1945 after the Allied atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air, August 9, 1945 after the Allied atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. ...

Testing of chemical and biological weapons on Asian civilians and Allied POWs

It is suspected that, during the height of Japan's power in 1942, the Japanese military began testing of certain chemical and biological weapons as an alternative method to winning the war. Human experiments were conducted on civilians and Allied POWs. Body disposal at Unit 731 Unit 731 was a secret military medical unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that researched biological warfare and other topics through human experimentation during the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and World War II era. ... This article is about the year. ... Medical experiments on human beings are an important part of medical research, and many people volunteer for clinical trials of medical treatments. ...

Japan's membership in the UN Security Council

Japan has long tried to gain entry into the UN Security Council as a permanent member. Some international observers, many of which are in China, have suggested that it would be dangerous to give Japan too much power on an international level, since it could give rise to new Japanese imperialism. Another argument is that Japan, as a defeated nation of World War II, would contradict the UN Charter if it was to enter the Security Council as a permanent member (both Germany and Italy have been prohibited from the Council for the very same reason.) A session of the Security Council in progress The United Nations Security Council is the most powerful organ of the United Nations. ... A cartoon portraying the British Empire as an octopus, reaching into foreign lands Imperialism is a policy of extending the control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires, either through direct territorial or through indirect methods of exerting control on the politics...

Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu)

The Diaoyu Islands, known alternatively in Japanese as the Senkaku Islands, are a group of islands in the East China Sea off the coast of Taiwan with an area of 7 km². Japan currently has control over the islands, but both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China government on Taiwan claims the islands to be part of their legitimate territory. China claims that it ceded the islands along with Taiwan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, although the treaty lacks an explicit mention of them. Agreements after Japan's surrender in WWII ceded Taiwan back to China, and as argued by China, so should have the Diaoyu Islands. Tensions over the islands have surfaced in the late 1990s and has grown and been involved as an issue in 2005 protests. The Senkaku Islands (Japanese: å°–é–£è«¸å³¶; Senkaku-ShotÅ) are islands are currently under Japanese control but claimed by the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan), by which they are known as Diaoyutai Islands or Diaoyu Islandsâ€”both literally mean Fishing Islands. ... The East China Sea, showing surrounding countries. ... The Republic of China (Traditional Chinese: ä¸è¯æ°‘åœ‹; Simplified Chinese: ä¸åŽæ°‘å›½; Wade-Giles: Chung-hua Min-kuo, Tongyong Pinyin: JhongHuÃ¡ MÃnGuÃ³, Hanyu Pinyin: ZhÅnghuÃ¡ MÃnguÃ³, Taiwanese POJ: Tiong-hoÃ¢ BÃ®n-kok) is a multiparty democratic state that is effectively composed of the island groups of Taiwan, the Pescadores, Quemoy... The Shunpanrō hall where the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed The Treaty of Shimonoseki (Japanese: 下関条約, Shimonoseki Jōyaku), known as the Treaty of Maguan (T. Chinese: 馬關條約, S. Chinese: 马关条约;) in China, was signed at the Shunpanrō hall on April 17, 1895 between the Empire of Japan and the Qing... 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Gas and oil in East China Sea

Both China and Japan are interested in deposits of natural gas and oil in the Xihu Trough, a disputed area of the East China Sea partly claimed by both countries. Both countries are net importers of energy, and the energy needs of China are booming. The U.S. Department of Energy notes a moderate estimate of 100 billion barrels of oil in the South China Sea. [12] Natural gas rig Natural gas (commonly refered to as gas in many countries) is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane. ... Oil is a generic term for organic liquids that are not miscible with water. ... The Xihu Trough is a region in the East China Sea, located approximately 400 kilometres east of the cities of Shanghai and Ningbo. ... The East China Sea, showing surrounding countries. ... The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy and nuclear safety. ...

China has been drilling on their side of the Xihu Trough since 2003, which Japan has been protesting as likely to remove oil from deposits on the Japanese side. After two years of its repeated requests against China to disclose the information on the deposit in the hope of co-developemnt had failed, on April 13, 2005, Japan granted drilling rights in the trough to two Japanese companies, a move immediately protested by the Chinese; the companies have not yet been formally granted permission to drill, and this is expected to take several months. China National Offshore Oil Corporation, a Chinese, state-owned company, plans to drill near the unsettled EEZ line between China and Japan beginning in August. [13] April 13 is the 103rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (104th in leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... In international maritime law, an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is a seazone extending from a states coast over which the state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources. ...

References

External links

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