Moral Education in JapanThe Coming of a New Dawn, Abe’s New
Moral Education
Kristoffer Hornburg Bolton

60 Credit Master’s Thesis in Modern Japan,
Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages(IKOS),
UNIVERSITETET I OSLO
Fall 2015

Moral Education in JapanThe Coming of a New Dawn, Abe’s New
Moral Education
Kristoffer Hornburg Bolton

60 Credit Master’s Thesis in Modern Japan,
Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages(IKOS),
UNIVERSITETET I OSLO
Fall 2015

II© Kristoffer Hornburg Bolton
2015
Moral Education in Japan: The Coming of a New Dawn, Abe’s New Moral Education
Kristoffer Hornburg Bolton
http://www.duo.uio.no/Print: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i OsloIII

Abstract
This thesis studies the current debate surrounding moral education in Japan, choosing to focus
on the criticism of the Abe administration’s proposed educational reform. Moral education
has received criticism for being overly nationalistic, being too similar to its pre-war iteration,and for supposedly brainwashing children. A majority of this criticism has been centered on
the new textbook, Watashitachi no Doutoku. Its predecessor, Kokoro no Nooto, raised similar
concerns and critics fear a worsening of the situation. The Abe administration has also
proposed that moral education should be elevated from an ‘area study’ to ‘official
curriculum’, meaning that teachers will have less autonomy in the running of the class and belegally obligated to use the Ministry of Education’s textbook, Watashitachi no Doutoku.
This thesis investigates the legitimacy of this criticism in light of moral education’s history,
an analysis of the former and current moral education textbooks, and a possible disparity
between the Ministry of Education’s curricular guidelines and the actual pedagogicalclassroom practices. This is accomplished by combining an analysis of Ministry of
Education’s curricular guidelines, criticism of the former textbook Kokoro no Nooto andobservations made over the course of five months at an elementary school in Tokyo.

IVVIntroduction and Foreword
During my year as an exchange student at Kwansei Gakuin University in Japan, I chose‘Japanese Psychology 101’ as one of my elective courses, and as a part of that course, we
analyzed similarities between Western and Eastern education. During this analysis, theteacher introduced a book known as Kokoro no Nooto (Notebook of the Heart). Thisparticular textbook asked the children about their feelings and thoughts on various subjects,
such as family, the concept of following rules, stealing and many other things. I later learned
that this textbook had been subject to a great deal of debate and criticism.1 This sparked myinterest in the topic and further spurred my interest in the field of Japanese education as awhole.
I thought it was interesting, not simply because it asked children from the age of six throughthe age of 15 to part with very personal thoughts and information, but also because I could
never imagine something like this existing in my native country, Norway. Imparting correct
morality onto students is considered a part of a teacher’s everyday duties. However, the very
notion of a class dedicated to teaching children a distinct set of values was a foreign concept. I
also could not help but wonder if this played any part in my Japanese friends’ seemingly
unwavering adherence to following rules and the low rate of bullying. Once again, I sincelearned that far from all Japanese people obey rules without question, and that bullying has
been on the rise for many years, but the comparison stuck in my mind.
Doing more and more research, however, I learned that the degree to which teachers adhere to
Notebook of the Heart and the Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT)’s guidelines vary
greatly from school to school, and even from teacher to teacher. Not only did this bring morequestions, but also it meant that determining elements within the education itself would not
paint a true picture of the situation if the teachers did not adhere to the state curriculum andguidelines. So I wondered, to what degree do teachers follow MEXT guidelines?
As I was doing research for my thesis, the Japanese government announced the release of a
new and revised moral education textbook. Notebook of the Heart was now going to be
replaced with Watashitachi no Doutoku (Our Morals), and though it only received mild media
coverage, based on what I read in opinion pieces, blogs and even overheard from Japanese
1

Youko Irie, Textbooks are Dangerous, (Tokyo: Iwanami Publishing 2002).
Akiko Miake, Thinking about Notebook of the Heart, (Tokyo: Iwanami Publishing, 2003).

VIteachers, this textbook was a throwback to the more nationalistic discourse employed close to
the era of World War 2. Popular opinion seemed to be that while this was a bit worse, thedisparity between the two books were minuscule.

Thesis Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all those who have given me their support during the writing of thisthesis. First and foremost, I would like to thank my academic advisor, Reiko Abe Auestad,who has provided invaluable advice and criticism when necessary. She also helped me findrelevant sources, facilitate my fieldwork, and has been great source of inspiration.
I would also like to thank the Takahashi Atsuko and Okada Yoshihiro, both from Waseda
University, who helped me with my fieldwork. All of the teachers and students at Hatomori
Elementary school also have my immense gratitude for their patience, their openness andwillingness to accept me into their school and lives. For almost 6 months, I was able tobecome a part of their daily work-life, all under the kind guidance of Okada Yoshihiro’s wife,
Kasumi, who was both a great friend and a patient guide. I will be forever grateful not only
for their assistance in the gathering information for this paper but also for their continued
friendship and support.
Finally, I would like to thank my girlfriend, Marita Eriksen Haugland, who has no doubt
suffered greatly this past year as I have struggled to finish this thesis. She has provided an
endless stream of support and handled the majority of the proofreading.

VII

VIII

Table of Contents
1

2

3

4

5

6

The Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................... 1
1.1

Method ......................................................................................................................... 1

1.2

Difficulties ................................................................................................................... 1

1.3

Sources......................................................................................................................... 1

1.4

Research question and thesis structure ........................................................................ 2

Moral Education and the Contemporary Situation in Japan .............................................. 5
2.1

What is moral education? ............................................................................................ 5

2.2

The current debate ....................................................................................................... 5

History of Japanese Moral Education ................................................................................ 9
3.1

Pre- and post-war moral education .............................................................................. 9

3.2

Healthy nationalism and Nakasone as number one ................................................... 10

3.3

Ikiru Chikara ............................................................................................................. 12

3.4

Koizumi’s Ikiru Chikara as an continuation of the Nakasone line ........................... 15

Abe’s Reform, Criticism and Validity ............................................................................. 16
4.1

Abe’s desires.............................................................................................................. 16

4.2

Criticism against nationalism .................................................................................... 19

4.3

Criticism against idolization of historical figures ...................................................... 20

4.4

Criticism of historical inaccuracies and Edoshigusa ................................................. 23

4.5

Is moral education likely to be an effective counter-measure against bullying? ....... 25

4.6

Abe’s reform as a continuation of the Nakasone line ................................................ 28

Criticism of Kokoro no Nooto .......................................................................................... 29
5.1

Miyake and Irie .......................................................................................................... 29

5.2

Brainwashing or interpellation?................................................................................. 31

5.3

Added criticism by Kasahara ..................................................................................... 32

5.4

Connection between Kokoro no Nooto and Watashitachi no Doutoku ..................... 34

Analysis of Textbooks ...................................................................................................... 36
6.1

Index and the four pillars of the ningenzou ............................................................... 36

6.2

Introduction and ‘how to use this book’ .................................................................... 40

6.3

Tell me about yourself ............................................................................................... 40

6.4

Stories ........................................................................................................................ 43

6.5

Moral education and gender equality ........................................................................ 45
IX

6.6
7

8

9

Moral education as a form of failing public pedagogy .............................................. 48

Use of Textbooks ............................................................................................................. 51
7.1

Observations of a typical class .................................................................................. 51

7.2

What textbooks were used in class? .......................................................................... 52

7.3

Similarities between the different textbooks ............................................................. 54

7.4

Analysis of usage ....................................................................................................... 55

7.5

Practical line versus theoretical line .......................................................................... 57

Moral Education outside the Classroom .......................................................................... 61
8.1

Moral education and its connection to extracurricular activities ............................... 61

8.2

Different brands of moral education .......................................................................... 63

8.3

Moral education outside of the school ....................................................................... 65

Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 68

Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 71
Appendices ............................................................................................................................... 79X

1 The Purpose of the Study
1.1 Method
I have chosen to analyze both Kokoro no Nooto and Watashitachi no Doutoku through two
different theoretical frameworks, using the theories of Louis Althusser, as well as the worksof Miyake Akiko and Irie Youko. I will gauge the debate and angling of moral education’s
media coverage by analyzing various newspaper articles and editorials from both leading
newspapers and lesser-known blogs, and compare these with the content of the Ministry of
Education’s curricular guidelines for moral education.
In order to understand the possible differences between moral education as the Ministry of
Education presents it and the moral education taught in Japanese classrooms, I spent fivemonths observing classes at an elementary school in Tokyo. By analyzing my observations inlight of the Ministry of Education’s curricular guidelines, I am able to discover bothsimilarities and differences between the guidelines and pedagogical practices. This also aids
in my reflection of moral education’s criticism and the validity of said criticism.

1.2 Difficulties
Nearing the end of the first year of my master’s program, the Ministry of Education approved
the new moral education textbook. Having devoted large amounts of time to the analysis of
the then suddenly outdated Kokoro no Nooto¸ I was forced to realign my thesis and myself to
a new reality. Since there was very little existing literature and critique of the new book, I
chose to review the entirety of my corpus and run a comparison of Kokoro no Nooto and the
new Watashitachi no Doutoku to discover whether or not the existing literature was of any
relevance. As I will examine later on in this thesis, it turns out that the theory used to criticize
Kokoro no Nooto was still very much relevant, most due to Watashitachi no Doutoku being acontinuation of Kokoro no Nooto. While this added bit of difficulty and caused me no small
amount of extra work, it also allowed me the opportunity to observe the introduction of a new
moral education book, an opportunity for which I am grateful.

1.3 Sources1

My primary sources will be Ministry of Education’s latest versions of Kokoro no Nooto andWatashitachi no Doutoku as they are provided by the Ministry of Education’s website. The
Ministry of Education’s website also provides various white papers on the subject of moral
education as well as both old and current curricular guidelines. I will use the books Thinking
about Notebook of the Heart by Miyake Akiko and Textbooks are Dangerous by Irie Youko
as my source of criticism of the moral education textbooks. Tu Wei-Ming’s Confucian
Traditions in East Asian Modernity: Moral Education and Economic Culture in Japan andthe Four Mini-Dragons covers the content of pre-war moral education curriculum, and allows
for a comparative analysis of pre-war and contemporary moral education curricular content.
Christopher Hood’s Japanese Education Reform: Nakasone’s Legacy together with Marie
Roesgaard’s Moving Mountains, Yoshimitsu Khan’s Japanese Moral Education: Present andPast and Japanese education in an Era of Globalization – Culture, Politics, and Equity by
DeCoker are the cornerstones of the bibliography I used to form my understanding of thehistory of Japanese education.

1.4 Research question and thesis structure
For my thesis, I have chosen the following research question:
What is the current debate and criticism towards moral education in Japan, and is thiscriticism linked to the actual content of current moral education textbooks, and the practice inmoral education classes?
‘Current’ in this thesis refers to the timespan from 1999/2000 to 2015. The reasoning for thistimespan is that 2000 was the year of the last major revision of the moral education
curriculum.2 This thesis will look at the status of the Japanese moral education, mainly
focusing on the coming reform proposed by the Abe administration, and the debate that has
been surrounding moral education since the last major revision of the moral education
curriculum. I will first analyze the contemporary situation and the way that the Western andJapanese media present moral education. This thesis will then present an overview of thehistory of post-war moral education, and specifically note the policy-makers behind thereforms. I will also examine how politicians often laud moral education as the solution to

2

Akiko Miyake, Thinking about Notebook of the Heart, Index-p02social ills such as school dropouts, teacher-student violence and bullying.3 These are issues
which have been have steadily worsened since the 70s, with each decade being marked by aparticularly unfortunate event, be it the suicide of a high school basketball captain or the
stabbing of a teacher.4
Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone is a central figure in the history of moral education, andhis vision for moral education as a preparatory class for international co-operation and carefulstrengthening of Japanese patriotism, or nationalism, still forms the core of moral education
curriculum. With an overview of media coverage and a historical backdrop, this thesis willthen reflect on the Abe administration’s proposed changes and the criticism it has received. It
has received some criticism for attempting to instill children with an undue sense ofnationalism, for presenting a both historically inaccurate and overly romantic picture of thepast, and for not being an effective counter-measure to bullying or other social ills. 5
Following the analysis of the contemporary reform, I will present the criticism voiced byseveral academics, most notably Irie Youko and Miyake Akiko, who both argued that there
was a degree of sinister manipulation behind the teaching materials distributed by the
Ministry of Education. Irie and Miyake’s criticism covers several topics ranging from theliteral content of the book to the careful choice of the book’s visual layout.6 Analyzing themany similarities between the former moral education textbook and the current one, I willconsider the validity of their criticism in light of the observations I made as an observer at
Hatomori Elementary School.
Using their criticism and my own observations, this thesis will then endeavor to analyze themost recent moral education textbook, Watashitachi no Doutoku (Our Morals). This chapter
will focus on some sections of the textbook, how it matches the Ministry of Education’s
curricular guidelines, and finally the concerns raised by Irie and Miyake. I will elaborate on
specific sections on the book as they were carried out and consider some of the moreprevalent themes. The following chapter also has its foundation in my observations, as it is a
description of the typical moral education class. By looking at the teaching materials the“Prime Minister Abe’s Desire for Moral Education is Normative consciousness“ 47 News, 02/2014,
Yoshimitsu Khan, Japanese Moral Education: Past and Present, (New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson University
Press, 1998), 24-25
JapanToday, 09/01/2013, “Student commits suicide after being beaten by school basket coach”
5
Ripples caused by Edoshigusa’s publication in moral education textbook, Getnews 01/2015“Why Should We Make Moral Education Official?“ NHK, 12/2013
6
Irie, Textbooks are Dangerous, Miyake, Thinking about Notebook of the Heart,3
43

teachers used, the lessons that were devoted the most time and their adherence to the Ministryof Education’s curricular guidelines; I will analyze how well the practical line matches up
with the theoretical line and with the criticism of moral education.
In the final chapter, I will look at moral education’s role outside of the classroom, examining
its influence on extra-curricular activities and school festivals. Some of these mean that moral
education is a class whose effects are inherently difficult to measure, which we will consider
in the final section of the chapter. Then, finally, I will summarize this thesis’ findings andreach my conclusion.

4

2 Moral Education and theContemporary Situation in Japan
2.1 What is moral education?
Moral education, often referred to as ‘character education,’ is a broad term commonly used todescribe a particular brand of education that focuses on teaching children to be virtuous andlaw-abiding citizens. This type of education has been part of both state and religious
institution but is no longer used in Western societies. In Japan, however, moral education isstill very much a part of the school system.7
The Japanese moral education has been a source of debate both within scholarly circles and as
a part of the political scene. It is currently taught once a week from the first grade through theninth, uses a variety of teaching supplements (books mainly), and is currently categorized as‘general studies’ (ryouiki) and not an academic study (kyouka). In a standard year, Japanese
schoolchildren will have had 35 lesson hours in moral education, which is only half of thetime dedicated to music or arts and handicrafts, and the children will not be graded in its
curriculum.8 Despite its few lesson hours, moral education is a topic of much debate both inJapanese and in Western media. One commonly refers to this as the ‘Education of kokoro’(Kokoro kyouiku) which can be translated as ‘Education of the heart.’ This is supposed tocomplete the Japanese notion of ‘whole person’ education (zenjin kyouiku), where the aim is
to educate one’s body, mind and heart, i.e. physical, mental and moral education. Moral
education, physical education, music, arts and academic subjects is considered the vehicle for‘whole person’ education.9

2.2 The current debate
The two issues given most attention in the debate are the 1) teaching materials employed inclass, and 2) the possibility of moral education being elevated to the status of an academic
study and becoming an ‘official’ class. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science7

Miki Ishikida, Japanese Education in the 21st Century, (New York: iUniverse, Inc. 2005), 5-6
Ministry of Education’s website, ‘About Moral Education’9
William K. Cummings, Education and Equality in Japan, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983)
85and Technology, often referred to as either MEXT, or The Ministry of Education,
manufactures and distributes a moral education book or teaching material, a book that hascaused considerable amounts of controversy. Both the current and former edition of the bookhas received criticism regarding their content and the perceived political intent. Schools are
not legally obligated to use the books in class, as they are not official textbooks, but they are
obligated to accept them, and the Ministry of Education publishes and distributes them free ofcharge.10
Currently, the Abe administration is presenting moral education as the solution to problems
such as bullying, increasing drop-out rates, and juvenile delinquency, and claim that moral
education will combat these problems by strengthening children’s ‘normative consciousness’
and awareness of their national identity.11 They are suggesting that moral education should be
elevated to an official class, which will mean the ‘officialization’ of the teaching material, anda wealth of other changes to the course such as children being graded, increase in lesson hours
and more. The opposition claims that the government wants to use moral education as ameans of imposing their ideology on schoolchildren. Moral education has been subject tomuch debate since the Second World War. Near the end of the 19th century, the Imperial
Rescript of Education (kyouiku ni kansuru chokugo) had emphasized a Confucian brand of
moral education, which was later credited with the ‘brainwashing’ of Japanese
schoolchildren.12 Moral education has since been an area of discussion where left and rightwing politicians often clash.13 Should moral education become an official class teachers
would be required to use the Ministry of Education’s textbook and they would have much lessautonomy in the running of the class.
The coverage of moral education in Western media has so far been limited to highlypolarizing articles, and newspaper editorials. Under titles such as ‘Moral Education’s slippery
slope,’ ‘Teaching or brainwashing?’ and ‘Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants Patriotism and
Moral Education included in School Curricula in Japan. Do you think this is a good idea?’ thereform of moral education is referred to as little more than Prime Minister Abe pushing a

Hikaru Kasahara, Manipulation Hidden Behind “Kokoro No Nooto” and Government's Intervention inChildren's Minds” (Women's Asia: Recent Events in Japan, 2003), 1
11
NHK 26/02/2013, ‘The Abe Way’s Bullying Counter-Methods Are?’
12
Tu Wei-Ming, Confucian Traditions in East Asian Modernity: Moral Education and Economic Culture in
Japan and the Four Mini-Dragons (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997), 114-117
13
Christopher P Hood, Japanese Education Reform: Nakasone's Legacy (London: Routledge, 2001), 85-87
106

particular conservative agenda.14 I will later analyze the possibility of the current educational
reform being a conservative effort many years in the making, but regardless of whether thesearticles are correct in their assumptions, they do little to elucidate an already much-obscured
debate.
This is not the only revision to educational policy that has sparked some controversy in the
media, as the Abe administration also wishes to further mainstream the moral education
curriculum. Their desired changes involve the enforcement of a stricter ‘normative
consciousness’ (kihan ishiki), a greater sense of ‘national identity,’ and an awareness ofJapan’s traditions and cultural heritage (dentou and bunkazai). These changes have further
polarized the debate, with Abe and other conservative agents championing moral education
on one side, and the leftist teachers’ unions and academics fighting against it on the other.
Abe’s detractors claim that moral education, and its textbook, attempts to instill patriotism(aikokushin) and even nationalism (kokkashugi) in the mind of Japanese children. These
concerns are not unreasonable, given the Ministry of Education’s inclusion of ‘Love forCountry’ and the importance of ‘Knowing one’s cultural heritage and legends.’15 Such
concerns, however, do not address the results of the already pre-existing moral education, andwhat implications this reform might have for its future success. Some of this, I would argue,
is tied to the possible loss of curricular autonomy, i.e. teachers becoming unable to freely
select what aspects of moral education to emphasize, and not strictly a conflict of values. Thisdegree of teacher control, however, is much of the reason why the effects of moral education
are notoriously difficult to measure. Therefore, their ability to influence the class issubsequently what prevents critics and supporters alike from grounding their arguments inconcrete results such as a decrease in bullying or suicide rates.
A lack of concrete results, however, is no excuse for the media’s mishandling of the topic.
The angling of certain articles claim that Abe ‘introduces’ elements that have already beenpresent for than 30 years. This betrays a lacking insight into the correlation between the
Ministry of Education’s curriculum and the moral education class, and obfuscates much of thepotentially relevant criticism and discussion that would otherwise be allowed to thrive. In her

14

JapTimes, 2014 and JapanToday, 2014
Ministry of Education’s Government Curricular Guidelines for Moral Education, 2015 revision of 2008
Curricular Guidelines(http://www.mext.go.jp/component/a_menu/education/detail/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2015/03/27/1282846_6.pdf).
15

7

analysis of the new reform, Tokitsu Kei concluded that for better or worse the new reform
would allow for a more concrete analysis of moral education's effects.16
Japan’s educational policies are influenced by the situation outside Japan, and it is possible toobserve that international concerns affect domestic educational reforms. Globalization andinternational co-operation have been prominent buzzwords in educational policy-making
since the 80s.17 Moral education has in this regard been tasked with preparing Japanesechildren to both compete and function in a globalized society. The implementation ofnationalism in Japanese schools can be traced back to Prime Minister Nakasone’s educational
reform in the 1980s, when the purpose of said nationalistic discourse (dubbed ‘Healthy
Nationalism’) was to ensure that Japanese children retained an awareness of their national andcultural identity in the ‘globalized tomorrow.’18 The continuation of these policies, however,are now receiving criticism for overly nationalistic content, which is awakening memories ofthe pre-war imperialist discourse.19 This critique is arguably a narrow view of moral
education, as the very aspects that are omitted from the media discourse are the elements thatdifferentiates contemporary moral education from the pre-war iteration, shuushin. A focus on
Japan as a participating global agent and the importance of internationalization is one of theseveral reasons that distinguishes it from pre-war nationalism. It is also pertinent toacknowledge that the contemporary nationalism was only one part of several other ‘globallyoriented’ reforms enacted under Prime Minister Nakasone, which I will now examine in an
historical overview.

16

Kei Tokitsu, An Analysis of Watashitachi No Doutoku in Elementary School: Focusing on a Relationship
Between Political Discourse and Content of Watashitachi No Doutoku (Hiroshima: Hiroshima Bunka Gakuen
University Press, 2015), 37-38
17
Marie Roesgaard, 2011, 85-87. Roesgaard also mentions David Leheny’s ‘Think Global, Fear Local (2006)’
which offers insight into the practice of using global concerns to accomplish local agendas.
18
Hood, Japanese Education Reform, 78-84
19
Irie, Textbooks are Dangerous, Chapter titled ‘Return to Imperial Citizens’, My Translation8

3 History of Japanese Moral
Education
3.1 Pre- and post-war moral education
In 1880, 20 years after the Ministry of Education had first been established; the Imperial
Rescript on Education was signed by the Meiji Emperor (kyouiku ni kansuru chokugo). With
this rescript, moral education, then called shuushin, was established in schools. This class was
based on Confucian doctrine and very emperor-centric. There were several textbooks, bearing
some similarities to the currently employed teaching materials, and these included lessons on
several topics. These topics were either linked to correct moral behavior or to the Japanesenation in some way (for example, there were chapters dedicated to the Yasukuni shrine,20 to
the Japanese emperor, and to the importance of bravery and diligence. The class emphasized
the importance of filial piety and the importance of being loyal to one’s parents. This concept,
which was Confucian in nature, was then applied to the nation, where the people were taught
to revere the emperor and obey him as one would obey one’s parents.21
The Fundamental Law of Education, enacted in 1947 under the American occupation of Japan(1945-1952), formed the core of the democratization of the Japanese school system. The
occupational forces had concluded that moral education had played a large part in thebrainwashing of Japanese children and called for the immediate suspension of moral
education activities, as they were practiced during the war. The occupational forces agreed
that the Confucian concept of filial piety (oyakoukou) was central to imposition of political
ideology onto Japanese citizens.22 Following this and other ‘democratically oriented policies’
was an updraft of democratic ideals and the subsequent foundation of the Japan Teachers
Union, the Nikkyoso. The Nikkyoso was largely leftist organization, and an opponent of moreconservative factions such as the Ministry of Education. They opposed the re-implementationof moral education but only managed a compromise that would see moral education back inschools, but without an official textbook or dedicated lesson hours. They failed, however, to

20

The Yasukuni Shrine is the shrine where those who have died in service of the Empire of Japan arecommemorated. The shrine has been a source of political controversy as several war criminals are enshrined
there.
21
Wei-Ming, Confucian Traditions in East Asian Modernity, 135-137
22
Wei-Ming, Confucian Traditions in East Asian Modernity, 1219maintain their influence in the wake of the American occupation. Following student riots
sparked by the amendment of the Japan-American security treatment, the government agreed
to reinstate moral education in Japanese schools. This marked the beginning of a gradual shift
from left to right within the Japanese political sphere, and the subsequent weakening of Japan
Teacher Union. As I will now discuss, the weakening of said unions was instrumental in the
re-introduction of moral education. This is because the unions, who were traditionally
opposed to moral education, lacked the political capital to resist its implementation.23

3.2 Healthy nationalism and Nakasone as number
one
The Japanese educational system received considerable criticism during the 60s and early70s.24 According to OECD reports, Japan was falling behind in social sciences. The media
highlighted a rise in youth suicides, violence on campus and, in 1983, a junior high school
teacher was stabbed by one of his students.25 Following the media uproar, the Ministry of
Education announced that all prefectural educational committees will be required to carry out
moral education programs. This announcement was part of Prime Minister Nakasone’s‘Healthy Nationalism’ initiative, which consisted of educational and social policies dedicatedto prepare Japanese youth for an increasingly globalized society. Moral education’s role inthis initiative was twofold, to act as a primer for international co-operation, and at the sametime to function as a cultural ‘gatekeeper,’ making the children aware of their national andcultural identity. Despite its ‘global packaging,’ however, the reform within moral education
was very much centered on issues local to Japan. The aim of these reforms was to lessen thepressure put on students cramming for University entrance exams (a period known as‘Examination Hell’), and to decrease juvenile delinquency and school dropout rates.26
The use of words such as ‘nationalism’ was met with much criticism from moral education’s
detractors, mainly from the left, but Nakasone claimed that it differed from pre-war moral

23

Hood, Japanese Education Reform, 83-87 and David L Grossman, and Joe Tin-Yau Lo. Social Education in
Asia: Critical Issues and Multiple Perspectives (Charlotte: Information Age Publishing, 2008): Grossman
mentions the Japanese Teachers Union continued resistance against Moral Education, up until the 00s.
24
Hood, Japanese Education Reform, 104
25
Khan, Japanese Moral Education, 23-25
26
Hood, Japanese Education Reform, 160-161.

10

education in its focus on international co-operation.27 His argumentation was based on thepresumption that this brand of moral education would facilitate international co-operation.
Along with other initiatives, such as the implementation of programs specific to ‘returnee’
students,28 and the introduction of the JET program that allowed English natives to work 1-3
years as assistant language teachers in Japan, it could be argued that this reform facilitated afostering of positive attitudes towards international co-operation even within Nakasone’s
more ‘realist’ approach to internationalization.29 Nakasone’s ‘Healthy Nationalism’ wasdifferent from the pre-war nationalism in its acknowledgement of Japan as a global agent, andits acceptance of, however mild and filtered, some international influence on Japanese culture
and school curriculum. Shimizu claims that Japan experienced an increase of ‘nationalistic
attitudes’ at this time, but I would not equate increased awareness of Japanese culture, and thefields where Japan succeeded, as particularly nationalistic. This also becomes apparent when
considering the international context where Nakasone was a contemporary of Thatcher,
Reagan and Gorbachev, and many nations were finding their footing in newly globalizedsociety. As both Hood and Shimazu emphasize, in their respective works, such elements wereintroduced in many European countries as well.30
In suit with Reagan and Thatcher, Nakasone’s reform weakened the teachers’ unions. He
established an ad hoc educational council, known as the Rinkyoushin, and together with the
Ministry of Education, they managed to phase out the Nikkyoso. Nikkyoso, which had been astronghold of moral education opposition forces, fractured into several smaller unions a few
years later and never fully recovered from this. This decline reached new heights underNakasone, as only 27% of teachers across Japan were unionized, compared to the 60s where
almost 80% were part of a union.31

27

Hood, Japanese Education Reform, 49-51. Here Hood outlines the two prevailing definitions ofinternationalism as they appeared in political discourse. One side focusing on ‘realistic’ demands such aslearning English, the possibility of travelling overseas and being friendly towards tourists. The other more‘idealistic’ side championed the introduction of western ideas and practices, more foreigners in Japan and an
easing of Japan’s naturalization laws.
28
Known as kikokushijo, children who have spent a certain amount of time abroad and then return to their native
country.
29
Hood, Japanese Education Reform, 59-60
30
Naoko Shimazu, Nationalisms in Japan (Sheffield: Sheffield Centre for Japanese Studies, 2006), 133-134,
and Hood, Japanese Education Reform, 51
31
Hood, Japanese Education Reform, 91, William K Cummings. The Revival of Values Education in Asia andthe West (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1988), 78-79

11

I would argue that while many of these educational reforms were well intended, such as
students being able to choose non-academic electives, less emphasis on entrance exams, andreduced lesson hours, they did not successfully address the more inherent issues in Japanese
schools such as competitiveness. Kim, who studied the emergence and prevalence of cramschools in Japan, notes two decades later, these reforms had little impact as the pressure ofuniversity entrance exams were simply moved to middle school. The academic culture now
required children to enter cram schools at an even earlier age, and the ability to choose nonacademic classes resulted in an increasing academic gap. Contemporary grading tests such as
TIMSS and PISA show a widening academic gap where the top-scoring children stand instark contrast to a growing cohort of low-scoring underachievers. Japan is currently one of thenations with the greatest gap between its top and bottom scoring cohorts.32

3.3 Ikiru Chikara
The next reform to affect moral education was dubbed Ikiru Chikara (‘Zest for Living’), andwas launched under Prime Minister Koizumi. This reform, like its predecessor, was born inthe wake of disaster. Following the Aum Underground Sarin Attack in 1995, where
academically successful and seemingly competent men and women had been persuaded tocommit horrible atrocities, the debate started revolving around topics such as moral characterand ‘an education of the mind.’33 The media blamed the incidence on their lack of moral
judgment and ability to think for themselves. This was reflected in the Ministry of Education's
white paper released the following year; ‘Successful adaption to a lifelong learning society
requires the ability to think and act independently.’[bold font added] and; ‘…the ability toidentify problem areas for themselves, to learn, think, and make judgments and acts
independently...’34
Following this incident was the 1997 Kobe Child Murders (Kobe jidou sashou jiken), where
two children the age of 10 and 11 had been murdered by another child, a 14 year old boy.35
Similarly, a female grade school teacher was stabbed to death by a 13 year old boy in the
Tochigi prefecture a few months after the Kobe Child Murders, and both of these incidents
32

Hyunjoon Park. Re-Evaluating Education in Japan and Korea: Demystifying stereotypes, (London: Routledge,2013), 33-35, Park also addresses the PISA scores in relation to growing social inequality in DeCoker, 2013.
33
Shimazu, Nationalisms in Japan, 146
34
Ministry of Education, 1996: White Paper on Lifelong Learning and Competency for Living, provisionaltranslation by MEXT (http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/html/hpae199601/hpae199601_2_042.html)
35
Fumihiko Takayama. Portrait of Boy A at 14 years old (Tokyo: Shincho Bunko, 2001)12

were used to emphasize the need for ‘Education of the Mind.’36 It can be debated whether or
not these demonstrate a genuine failure of morality. Nonetheless, these incidents functioned
as triggers for the new moral education: ‘Zest for Living.’
This ‘Zest for Living’ aimed for the development of rich humanity and to cultivate morality
and ethics.37 The core values prevalent in the educational reform can largely be identified as acontinuation of the reforms preceding it, mainly ‘Healthy Nationalism’ and its attempt at‘gatekeeping’ Japan against the influence of internationalization, while at the same time
preparing the children to function in such an everyday. The reform were to increase focus on
information technology and international co-operation, and in 2001 came the introduction of
the Ministry of Education’s official book on moral education, Kokoro no Nooto (Notebook of
the Heart). The book was met with much controversy upon its release and due to the
Ministry’s claim that the book was ‘just’ teaching materials and not a textbook, and therefore
it was not subjected to the textbook screening process.38
Moral education was experiencing a popular updraft, and noted psychologist Hayao Kawai,
who had worked on the compilation of Kokoro no Nooto, formed the ‘Kyoto City Moral
Education Promotion Group,’ in 2001. They conducted a large-scale survey with over 20,000
respondents, and reached the conclusion that the public was largely positive to moral
education and desired more room for family and community involvement.39 Their feedback
was reflected in a book published by Kyoto Mayor Yorikane Matsumoto, who argued that
individualism and diversity were too prevalent in Japanese society, and that this had come at
the expense of ‘good old traditions.’40 This should be considered in light of past attitudes
towards moral education. Even when the Japan Teachers Union, and arguably the Japaneseleftist movement, was at the height of their popularity, the Japanese public still desired moral
education.41
The Ministry distributed the books nationwide, and encouraged teachers to treat the books as
official curriculum and to use them as much as possible. Many concerned teachers and36

Hiroyuki, Ikushima. Educational Clinical Study on the Recent Juvenile Delinquencies (Aichi: Aichi Universityof Education, 2005)
37
Ministry of Education, 2009: Curricular Guidelines for Lower Grade Elementary School Moral Education,
Competency for Living (http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/new-cs/youryou/syo/sou.htm)
38
Shimazu, Nationalisms in Japan, 144-145
39
Grossman, Social Education in Asia, 54-55
40
Cummings, The Revival of Values Education in Asia and the West, 78-80
41
Cummings, The Revival of Values Education in Asia and the West, 79-80. Cummings note that almost 80% of
the Japanese public were positive to the re-introduction of Moral Education during the early 60s.

13

parents voiced their reluctance and suspicions regarding the book, and it was referred to as athrowback to the pre-war shuushin by certain parents and scholars. The controversy wasraised by assignments requiring the children to write down their thoughts on a variety ofsubjects, such as what they feel when they see the flag or if they have ever told a lie, andcriticism levelled at the book interpreted much of its content as an attempt to brainwash
Japanese schoolchildren into loyal nationalistic citizens. The more outspoken scholars, suchas Miyake Akiko and Irie Youko criticized the subtle manipulation between the book’s
carefully chosen words and claimed that the children were forced to accept the ‘correct’
behavior and then tricked into thinking that the ideas supplied by the Ministry were actually
their own.42
10 years after the release and attempted implementation of Kokoro no Nooto¸ however, thebook was decried as a failure by the Ministry of Education. The book’s failure, from theirperspective, lay in the legal limitations of the moral education class. With its status as an
unofficial class, the Ministry had no legal authority to enforce its use and so teachers had beenhighly selective in their use of the book. Further, the books were stored in classrooms and thechildren were not allowed to bring them home, which was unfortunate for the Ministry
considering the book heavily relied on the children doing assignments in the home and in thelocal community. The increase in bullying has been seen as a consequence of moral
education’s ‘failure,’ though said failure is very loosely referred to by the current Prime
Minister as moral education’s inability to instill the children with a ‘normative
consciousness’.43
In 2012-2013, the Ministry of Education released a survey on bullying; citing a 180%
increase since the previous year with 198, 108 reported cases.44 Whether these numbers
reflect any real or significant change remains largely unexamined, but what is certain is thatthe increase, real or imagined, has become a platform for political agenda setting. Current
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo voiced his intent to reform moral education during his inauguralspeech, and together with the Ministry of Education announced a new moral educationteaching material, Watashitachi no Doutoku (Our Morals). This reform aims to lessen theever-constant social ills that plague that Japanese youth by instilling a stronger normative
This criticism is addressed respectively in Akiko Miyake’s ‘Thinking About Kokoro no Nooto’, Youko Irie’s‘Textbooks are Dangerous’ and Hikaru Kasahara’s ‘Manipulation hidden behind Kokoro No Nooto´’
43Tokitsu, An Analysis of Watashitachi No Doutoku in Elementary School, 31
44“Reports of school bullying in Japan up 180%,” Japan Times, 12/201342

14

consciousness, an awareness of their cultural and national identity, and strengthen the love of
their country.45

3.4 Koizumi’s Ikiru Chikara as an continuation of the
Nakasone line
Moral education’s role has been that of the ‘gatekeeper,’ tasked with the continuation of
tradition and conservative values, while at the same time being in charge of preparing
children for ‘globalization.’ Introduced shortly after the Ministry of Education was founded, it
has functioned as a convenient outlet for the kind of morality that the Ministry wants
presented to the public. Ikiru Chikara served as a continuation of the Nakasone brand of
moral education, evident in its shallow focus on ‘international co-operation’ and tendency toemphasize the uniquely Japanese. It is difficult to conclude whether this is because ofsimilarities in values or because moral education’s given purpose will inherently lend itself toan overt focus on its nation’s positive qualities. Therefore, I will now analyze the content of
the Abe administration’s moral education reform whilst keeping the Nakasone reform in
mind. This should either reveal Ikiru Chikara’s similarities as an exception or strengthen thepossibility of the ‘Nakasone line.’“Prime Minister Abe’s Desire for Moral Education is Normative consciousness“ 47 News, 02/2014, and “WhyShould We Make Moral Education Official?“ NHK, 12/2013
45

15

4 Abe’s Reform, Criticism and Validity
4.1 Abe’s desires
The current debate surrounding moral education is centered on Prime Minister Abe andMinster of Education Hakubun Shimomura’s planned educational reform. Abe’s views on
education were outlined during the keynote speech that marked the beginning of his brief
tenure as president in 2006-07. He stressed a desire for ‘…public service, self-discipline,
morals and attachment to and affection for the community and country where we have beenborn and raised.’ 46
He also expressed a desire to revise the teaching guidelines to expand on moral education, andother subjects. The purpose of these revisions would be to strengthen the educational role ofthe community and family, solve problems related to bullying and child suicide, as well as
dropout rates and a ‘downturn in children’s morals.’ These views are consistent with hisoverall conservative values displayed by both the Abe administration’s policies and from his
own statements, i.e. he wishes for more traditional gender roles and social norms, and a focus
on market economy with temporary employment.
His brief tenure as president, however, would see these reforms delayed by a handful of years.
The Ministry of Education’s Basic Law of Education was briefly revised in 2008 despite
being met with considerable resistance. It was met with criticism due to the inclusion of thewords ‘to love our country and one’s birthplace’ (waga kuni to kyoudo wo aisuru), and could
be considered Abe’s first actual movement towards realizing his educational reform. 47His
work had not been undone by the time he returned to office four years later and the revision of
moral education continued with the introduction of Watashitachi no Doutoku. Compared to its
predecessor, this book is 80 pages longer, though it is similarly designed and consistent in its
focus the four tenets of the ideal person. These tenets detail the moral child’s role andexpected behavior in four scenarios: alone as an individual, with other people in nature, and in

46

Abe, 2006. Policy Speech by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the 166th Session of the Diet, provisionaltranslation.
47
Ministry of Education, Current Curricular Guidelines for Competency for Living, 2008. Under the 34rd and 4 thyear guidelines, the fourth section, sentence number 6.

16

groups and society.48 The first and last respectively are the most relevant to Abe’s reform andits subsequent criticism, and they will be examined in greater detail later in this thesis.
The current criticism towards moral education echoes much of the concerns raised during the2007 Basic Law of Education revision, but are grounded in more than just the ambiguous
rewording of moral education’s goals. The Abe cabinet is currently working on elevating themoral education class from an unofficial class to part of the official curriculum. This, in turn,would allow the Ministry of Education to enforce the use of Watashitachi no Doutoku, andsubsequently sanction teachers who do not adhere to their guidelines. There are some minor,
auxiliary changes such as an increase in lesson hours, reduced freedom for teachers and thedemand for a teacher dedicated to moral education, however, one of the more noteworthychanges would be the introduction of grades to the course. Currently, and to the relief of manyteachers, children are not graded in moral education. Their opinions are ‘tracked’ andsubmitted to a personal record depending on the individual teacher, but they never take ‘moral
tests’ or receive a numbered or lettered grade in the course.49
This proposed reform has been met with considerable criticism from Western media in theform of critical articles and editorials. These articles are without fault solely concentrated on
the perceived intent behind the proposed reform and neither the revised content nor theintended effect are allotted any kind of attention. It is difficult to judge whether this is due tothe difficulty of penetrating the Japanese media or simply inherent issues in observing theJapanese situation from such a distant location, but these articles can at best be described assuperficial and at worst be considered pure vilification of the issue and the Abeadministration.50
The Japanese mainstream media, on the other hand, seem to be weighing both the pros andcons of moral education’s impending officialization. In late 2013, NHK (Japanese
Broadcasting Corporation) published several opinion pieces detailing the proposed changes
and the subsequent consequences simplifying and compressing much of the already dense
content into easily digestible paragraphs and pictures.51 An unfortunate side effect of making
the issue easier to digest is that it becomes a gross simplification of a fairly complex issue.
48

Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku 1st and 2nd grade edition.
“Why should we make moral education official?” NHK, 12/2013
50
Japan Today, 2014 and Japan Times 2014.
51
The two previously cited articles by NHK as well as third article titled ‘The Abe Administration’s Problem,
Revitalizing Education and Bullying’49

17Even more unlike the Western sphere, the Japanese media often writes about moral education
together with other anti-bullying measures, such as the revision of bullying’s legal
implications, and has a tendency to present both a voice for and against the reform. In otherwords, the Japanese media offers a much more nuanced insight into the issue; even if it’ssometimes simplistic approach has a tendency to omit academic articles. This is a concern
because a large part of its detractors are scholars and their criticism is not often easily
conveyed in a single sentence.
When reading the aforementioned news articles one might be left with the impression that the
opposition to the officialization of moral education is grounded in nothing more than fear of a
return to pre-war imperialism. As reported by Sankei news, however, a large part of Nikkyoso
oppose moral education on the grounds that it is a brand of education that ‘forces a set ofvalues onto children’ (kachikan wo oshitsukeru youna kyouiku), and not simply because of its
pre-war connotations.52 This adds another layer to the debate as the issue of moral education
is increasingly multi-faced. A majority of the Japanese criticism is located in the ‘fringe
media,’ lesser known newspapers or more prominent blogs, and so moral education’s
detractors are not entirely without a mouthpiece.
On the topic of public opinion, the Ministry of Education requested public comments andfeedback on their proposed reform, and it received almost 6000 responses in little over twomonths. Contrary to what some might expect, more than 3400 of these, roughly 57%, werepositive towards the reform. 53 One should, however, also take into consideration that the
Ministry of Education are the ones who are spearheading this reform and as such, theirdefinition of ‘consenting opinion’ might not be wholly objective or reliable. Allowing the
Ministry of Education the benefit of the doubt, however, I would conclude that it is anotherindicator of how the media has managed to aptly represent the Japanese people’s division on
this issue.
Another perspective might be that these numbers represent a political shift against moral
education. Comparatively speaking, both the polls from 60s and 90s reported overwhelming
majorities for moral education. 57% in favor of moral education equates to a drop of over

Sankei News, 28/3/2015 ‘60% [agree] to Moral Education’s officialization based on the Ministry of
Education’s public opinion appeal’
53
Sankei News, 28/3/2015 ‘60% [agree] to Moral Education’s officialization based on the Ministry of
Education’s public opinion appeal’
5218

20% when compared to the height of 80%.54 Both of these polls, however, were carried out at
a time when moral education had been taught without official teaching materials. This also
occurred during periods when criticism of the class was more rooted in political discourse,
left versus right, and not in concrete curricular points. Whether or not these curricular items
correspond to reality remains to be seen, but given moral education’s waning popularity andthe decline of Japan Teachers Union’s influence, one could reason that opposition to moral
education is not linked solely to political allegiance.
I will now address the various aspects of the criticism contemporary moral education hasreceived. Some of this criticism has been met with responses from the Ministry of Education
and/or the Abe administration. Granted, many issues that were raised with Kokoro no Nootothat are still present in Watashitachi no Doutoku have yet to be answered, but the Ministry has
made an effort to alleviate some of the concerns voiced in regards to the coming reform.

4.2 Criticism against nationalism
The fear of nationalism has been a mainstay in the moral education debate since post-war
days, and it is therefore no great surprise that the inclusion of words such as ‘love for one’s
country and nation’ gives rise to a certain amount of outcry from moral education’s
detractors. As previously mentioned, this criticism is twofold at the least, ranging fromcriticism linked to its associations with the pre-war emphasis on nationalistic values and theother side being principally opposed to education that forces a set of ideals/values onto
children. I would argue that the latter is grounded in the fact that these are ideals presented by
the Ministry of Education, and that the Nikkyoso would not be opposed to education that
supported their ideals, as was clearly evident in the post-war democratic updraft. When theAmerican occupational forces had laid the groundwork for a new ‘democratic’ Japanese
school, they had the full support of the Japanese teachers’ unions, who used this as anopportunity to solidify their influence and supported the imposition of ‘democratic values’
onto children.55

54

Grossman, Social Education in Asia, 43
Arne, Kalland. Japans Historie: Fra Jegersamfunn til økonomisk supermakt (Oslo: Cappelens Forlag as 2005),
333-34155

19

Love for one’s country is not necessarily a negative trait and, as noted by both Hood andShimazu, one that most nations attempt to foster in schoolchildren56. The curriculum aims for
patriotism, where a person love one’s country, but is willing to view it critically. This brandof love for one’s country is, however, not what the public has come to expect of the Abeadministration. Abe’s love for his country is often treated as patriotism’s closely related
cousin: nationalism, uncritically defending one’s nation in the face of all criticism. There areseveral reasons why such expectations are laid at the Abe administration’s doorstep, the firstbeing its involvement in the History Textbook controversies that have circulated media. In
1995, the LDP,57 Abe included, helped work and publish the book Recap of the Greater East
Asian War, a book which claimed that the Nanjing Massacre and Comfort Womencontroversies were complete fabrications, and that Japan’s role in the war was one of the selfdefense.58 Issues such as Abe’s denial of comfort women, a stance that he maintained until
mid-2000s, has no doubt marked him as someone who defends his nation against any
criticism. The subsequent coverage of this issue in the West has also marred him as a narrowminded nationalist.59
The criticism towards moral education’s slight rewording to include words that one might
expect to see in many other countries’ curriculum is thusly considered a criticism of the handthat makes the change. There is, however, little concrete cause for concern to be found in theactual curriculum. The course of study mentions knowing and loving one’s country andculture, which could be considered nationalistic when viewed through a certain lens, but thishas been present since Nakasone’s reform in the late 80s, where Nakasone put ‘teaching love
for one’s country’ on the agenda, and was not introduced by the Abe administration.60

4.3 Criticism against idolization of historical figures
Much of moral education's opposition is grounded in the concern that it might, for the lack ofa better term, brainwash Japanese schoolchildren similarly to the pre-war shuushin.61 With

56

Hood, Japanese Education Reform, 51, and Shimazu, Nationalisms in Japan, 133-134
LDP stands for the Liberal Democratic Party, the largest political party in Japan with the incumbent prime
minister.
58
Shimazu, Nationalisms in Japan, 131
59
The Telegraph, 03/03/2007. “Japanese PM denies wartime ‘comfort women’ were forced”. And The New
York Times, 14/11/2014. “The Comfort Women and Japan’s War on Truth”
60
Hood, Japanese Education Reform, 55-56
61
Wei-Ming, Confucian Traditions in East Asian Modernity, 135-136
57

20

these concerns in mind, it is no surprise that one of the aspects of the moral education books
to receive the greatest amount of criticism is the decision to include, and revere, several
figures from historical times.
Similarly, to the six volumes of moral education texts and lessons that composed the pre-war
shuushin, the current books teach children about famous historical figures. These are not justfrom Japan, but also from other countries. Each of the historical figures often imbued aparticular aspect of the moral education curriculum; notable examples include Abraham
Lincoln (honesty), Florence Nightingale (compassion) and Benjamin Franklin (independence
and initiative). The inclusion of these, however, were very limited compared to that of theJapanese characters. Among the Japanese historical figures, those from the Tokugawa period
seemed most prominent, and figures such as Ninomiya Sontoku (educator) and Yoshida Shoin(political activist) were featured up to four times.62
The purpose of these figures was to instill the Japanese schoolchildren with ‘a sense of thenation and a civic ethos.’ This is not necessarily negative thing; a national sense and civic
duty are things most governments wish to instill in children, nonetheless the sections in thecurrent moral education books dedicated to teaching children about historical figures are
similar in certain areas. There are similarities in topicality, format and period of focus meansthat the scope of similarity between pre-war shuushin and contemporary moral education isgreat but not all encompassing. I would argue that this is because the noted historical figures
have remained constant. The most noted exception, however, is perhaps the most relevant one
in countering the claim that Abe's new reform is a throwback to pre-war mentality. That
exception is the exclusion of the emperor, who was the most prominent figure in pre-war
shuushin.
A considerable portion of the pre-war shuushin curriculum was dedicated to the reverence ofthe emperor. The later 5th and 6th volumes of shuushin books, aimed at middle school
children, dedicated almost a quarter of its total page number to such content.63 Currently, as
outlined in the curricular guidelines for moral education, Japan is a democratic nation and thesovereignty of the people (kokuminshuken) is emphasized at several points. Both theelementary and middle school curricular guidelines refer to Japan as a democratic nation and62
63

Wei-Ming, Confucian Traditions in East Asian Modernity, 140-142
Wei-Ming, Confucian Traditions in East Asian Modernity, 140-145

21

stress the importance of children learning the significance and importance of democratic
processes and political participation. Officially, the Ministry of Education’s curriculum
promotes democratic values and, as mentioned by Tokitsu Kei, the unofficial practice ofmoral education are notoriously difficult to measure.64
Further, some of the figures included were civil rights activists such as the politicalrevolutionary Sakamoto Ryouma, who fought to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate, or
Fukuzawa Yuikichi, who founded Keio University. Figures who one would argue that conflictwith the projected ideology that critics place on the Abe administration.65 Kaizuka Shigeki,
lecturer at Musashino University, argues that a natural part of patriotism is to both understandand show compassion for the people who preceded us.66 The inclusion of figures who acted
on both sides of ‘the establishment’ also offers a more nuanced insight and is more than asimple affirmation of ‘Japan’s greatness.’
Given the wide span of different characters who are featured in the textbooks, everythingfrom athletes to Greek philosophers, there is no single trait unifying all of them. They are,however, only used within the context of the four different sections of the textbooks, the four
sections corresponding to the four pillars of the ningenzou.67 The ningenzou is a word used tothe describe the concept of the ‘perfect’ person, an ideal citizen that one should idolize. As
such, they are examples that embody particular aspects of each pillar, i.e. a certain character
used to exemplify diligence in the section dedicated to personal values, or a civil servant usedin the section dedicated to oneself and society.68 Because of this, criticism against a particular
historical figure, i.e. due to a businessman who was ruthless in a certain area or a warlord who
has murdered people, is largely irrelevant given the limited scope of their introduction.
Naturally it would seem out of place to exalt a mass murderer for a trait unrelated to his
offense, but the historical figures used in the books are only included on the basis of aparticular trait. Criticism drawn from any other aspect of said person’s history or actions isirrelevant when criticizing the purpose and intent behind the book's creation, even more sowhen such characters are understood as a product of their time. George Washington’s
64

Tokitsu, An Analysis of Watashitachi No Doutoku in Elementary School, 2015.
Sankei News, 14/02/2014 “Official Announcement of The Ministry of Education’s new Teaching Material[Watashitachi no Doutoku], reading material like legends of foreign and domestic great men completed,”
66
Kaizuka Shigeki, Sankei News, 02/2015 ”Is Patriotism Inexcusable?”
67
The term was used extensively in older revision, such as the guidelines from 1989, but is not included in thecurrent curricular guidelines.
68
Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 5th and 6th grade edition, 2014: 30 (Marie Curie and Yukawa
Hideki).
65

22historical relevance as a founding father is not diminished because he kept slaves, adeplorable action when viewed through a contemporary lens.
Further, I would argue that some concern have been raised as to the strong focus oncommunity in Japanese schools, and the downplaying of the individual student’s
achievements. The inclusion of historical figures functions as a weighted counter to this.
Contextualized by each of the four respective sections in the moral education book, they
exemplify how much it is possible for the individual to achieve when serving, for example,
the community at large. At the same time, it is a sobering reminder that an individual neveracts in a vacuum, and that most actions, even individual ones, have consequences and often
greater repercussions. It is neither an exaggerated worship of certain characters, nor adevaluation of individual efforts, but also a lesson of consequence, which is also one of theoverarching curricular goals in the third section of moral education’s curricular guidelines. I
would therefore conclude that because of the context in which it is employed, the exclusion ofemperor worship and the inclusion of notable foreign great people, the idolization of Japanesefigures is not simply an added layer of nationalistic emphasis.

4.4 Criticism of historical inaccuracies andEdoshigusa
Edoshigusa, roughly translated to the behavior of Edo or manner of Edo, refers to a particular
way of living one’s life that is thought to have been practiced during the Edo period.69 The
Edo period was known for its long reign of peace and some scholars attribute this to themanner in which people of that era lived their lives. There are a dozen or so examples of ideal
behavior commonly applied in popular discourse, some of these are mentioned in
Watashitachi no Doutoku and include;- Withdrawing one’s back: When the citizens of Edo crossed one another on a narrow street,they both leaned back their right shoulder and allowed each other uninhibited passage.
- Leaning one’s umbrella: When crossing one another on a rainy day the citizens of Edo
would always lean their umbrella left and shield one another from the rain.

69

The Edo Period. 1603-1868, was a period characterized by internal peace, economic growth and isolationist
policies. Kalland, Japans Historie, 173-254.

23

- Saving space: Sitting closer to one another on the bench to allow other people a spot.
- Careless apology: Creating a pleasant atmosphere by apologizing even when one is not at
fault.70
These examples are provided to the students in their moral education books along with a shorttext explaining the method and purpose of each act, and why Edo, the capital, was such apeaceful place. This section of the moral education books have been critically singled out forseveral reasons, because it is historically erroneous and also because it encourages a very
passive kind of behavior. Moral education has been criticized for not encouraging Japanesechildren to actively prevent bullying, and critics note a high percent of passive actors inbullying incidents.71 Therefore, some would consider it counter-productive to emphasize analmost subservient behavior.
The criticism directed at Edoshigusa was, however, mainly grounded in historicalinaccuracies and often referred to as ‘the Edo that didn't exist.’ For example the case of‘leaning umbrellas’ is very unlikely given that umbrellas were only available to people of theupper class and the umbrellas used during the Edo period were different from contemporary
umbrellas in a way that did not allow the ‘leaning umbrella’ method. Noted historian andpresident of Hosei University, Tanaka Yuuko was especially critical claiming that Edoshigusa
was more fantasy than reality.72 Considering these arguments, it is more likely that thesemoral lessons are a modern day creation and not an accurate reflection of past events.
The purpose of moral education, however, is not to educate children in the field of history but
rather to foster their moral self, and the relevance of historical accuracy is debatable.
Representatives from the Ministry of Education accepted the criticism, and responded that
their inclusion of Edoshigusa was not tantamount to them teaching the children about afictional historical Japan. The purpose was not to teach them historical facts; it was created toserve as an opportunity for them to consider etiquette and manners.73
Lessons on etiquette and manner in Watashitachi no Doutoku does not, however, take place ina contextual vacuum. Edoshigusa is placed in the third section of the curriculum, the section
70

Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku,5th and 6th grade edition, 2014: 58-59
Frank E Daulton, and Seki Akinori. Bullying and Biracial Children in Japan (The Language Teacher, 2000),72
News23, 2015.
73
News23, 20157124

that also covers curricular items such as teaching the children about Japanese culture, traditionand national identity. Considering these points, along with the Abe administration’s focus onthem, there is reason to note the criticism. While the Ministry of Education asserts that they
are using these examples of ideal behavior solely for the purpose of teaching children correctmanner, one might wonder why they then included it in the section that covers cultural historyof Japan. Further, there is no note, bookmark or added line of information denoting thehistorical inaccuracy of Edoshigusa, and given that Japanese schoolchildren will only
tangentially have covered the Tokugawa period by the time they reach this section in theirmoral education studies, they have very little with which to compare Edoshigusa.74

4.5 Is moral education likely to be an effective
counter-measure against bullying?
Moral education is mainly being upheld as a countermeasure against social ills, most pressingof which is ijime, bullying, in its many forms. In Japan, the most prevalent forms of bullying
are social ostracization and corporal punishment, known as taibatsu. The Abe administration
has dedicated large sums of money to the Ministry of Education, and currently the moral
education program receives a total of 14 billion yen (14 oku), a fourth of the money allotted
for anti-bullying measures.75 The Abe administration has outlined three measures against
bullying:
1) Moral education
2) A revision of bullying’s legal implications
3) A stricter attitude towards bullying
Moral education is currently fronted as the first, and most important, of three anti-bullying
measures that the Abe administration wishes to focus on. The other two being a law
concerning bullying and a generally stricter attitude towards bullying.76 In light of this, one
can perhaps argue that moral education should first and foremost be judged on the criteria of
whether or not it is an effective anti-bullying countermeasure.

74

Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 5th and 6th grade edition, 2014: 58-59
Tokitsu, An Analysis of Watashitachi No Doutoku in Elementary School, 31
76
NHK, 26/02/2013, "The Abe Way’s Bullying Counter-Measures Are? "7525

Abe argues that moral education’s limited success so far is a result of its full implementation
having been a sort of ‘pending issue’ since the end of the American occupation.77 There issome merit to this argument as the issue of moral education has been marred by half measuresand policies lacking full commitment. While the Ministry of Education and the incumbent
administration create national policy, its implementation relies on teachers and other local
agents. Because moral education’s main opponents have been teachers and the teachers’
union, arguably the sole remaining leftist bastion in Japanese society, thoroughimplementation of moral education has been met with some difficulty. The Ministry’s lacking
legal authority to enforce such an implementation has led to moral education’s status as afinancial drain with hardly any measurable effect. Since the commitment to, and quality of,moral education can vary from school to school it is even more demanding to identify
effective or ineffective measures.78
There is, however, an available avenue for analysis, which is to examine the more prevalent
forms of bullying, their sources and moral education’s direct measures towards these. Judging
by various studies, we can tell that a majority of bullying takes the form of large groups
against one child, often the entire class against a single pupil. The Ministry of Educationelaborates that Japanese children are fully capable of recognizing bullying, but that they lackthe ability and courage to intervene and prevent further bullying. Research done by Akiba andShimizu further supports these numbers with qualitative data drawn from a school in Tokyo,
where they discovered that victims were often selected based on whether or not they fit inwith the class’ group dynamic, and that the children who did not initiate the bullying often
join in fear of being singled out themselves.79
Bullying is not always limited to classrooms, but can also occur in school clubs. Clubs are an
arena especially vulnerable to such problems given the Japan’s vertically stratified society andnorm for using corporal punishment to sanction lacking athletic performances. In 2013, thecaptain of a high school basketball team in Sakuranomiya committed suicide, and in the notehe left behind revealed that he and the team had been subjected to very systematic corporalpunishment.80 Following this, news of similar systematic abuse at a local handball team
77

Abe, 2006. Policy Speech by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the 166th Session of the Diet, provisionaltranslation.
78
Discussed throughout Tokitsu Kei’s article from 2015.
79
Gary DeCoker and Christopher Bjork. Japanese education in an Era of Globalization: Culture, Politics, andEquity (New York: Teachers College, 2013),
80
JapanToday, 09/01/2013, “Student commits suicide after being beaten by school basket coach”

26surfaced and further fueled the debate.81 The use of corporal punishment had been an integral
part of the club for several years, which meant more than a hundred of students were aware of
it without speaking up against it or seeking help. The Abe administration, however, has not
singled out corporal punishment as a particular item on their agenda of anti-bullying
measures, but had this to say in response to the basketball captain’s suicide; ‘Whether
corporal punishment or bullying, at the place of education, this event symbolizes the waning
consciousness of caring for the lives of people’s children… Now, once more, we want tostimulate an awareness of caring for children’s lives.’82
This promise followed the Abe administration’s introduction of the plans for revising the law
on bullying. Physical injury and extortion, arguably the more severe forms of bullying, are tobe criminalized and handled separately by the police.83 In other words, the handling of more
severe bullying is handled by changing of legality. Their statement refers to an awareness ofteacher’s nurturing ability, but this stands in contrast to reality where their ability to handle
bullying is weakened as final authority now officially rests with the police. This is anaffirmation of Abe’s belief that moral education lacks the tools to be an effective
countermeasure. Paradoxically, criticism aimed this piece of legislation argues for the subtletyof bullying and that this is not necessarily an effective deterrent against bullying. This
contradicts much of the earlier criticism where Abe’s statements on bullying as a result of
failing normative consciousness came under fire for not being concrete enough.
On the other hand, as Akiba and Shimizu also argues, much of Japan’s bullying is rooted ingroup mentality and children’s intolerance towards those who are different.84 Abe’s idea ofreinforcing normative consciousness is more likely to facilitate bullying of this kind than it isto prevent it. His claim is not that moral education has failed to teach tolerance for those whoare different, but rather than it has failed to make all children the same. There are also studies
supporting the claim that a lot of bullying is caused by relatively minor issues, and that it issupplemented by academic stress, stress caused by entrance exams or performance pressure.85
A more conform classroom does therefore not necessarily prevent the creation of ‘outsiders,’
and a lack of tolerance is not the real cause for the bullying, it is simply a convenient outlet.
81

Yahoo Japan News, 2013:
Abe, 2006. Policy Speech by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the 166th Session of the Diet, provisionaltranslation.
83
NHK 26/02/2013, ‘The Abe Way’s Bullying Counter-Methods Are?’84
Akiba and Shimizu, Japanese education in an Era of Globalization, 201085
Japan Times 25/10/2014, School Bullying on the Increase.
82

27

When considered purely in terms on whether it is likely to prevent further bullying, moral
education is at best a scapegoat used to fend off the media and at worst something that mightworsen the present situation

4.6 Abe’s reform as a continuation of the Nakasone
line
Yasuhiro Nakasone was a central figure in the creation of contemporary moral education. The
Abe administration’s reform bears many similarities to Nakasone’s ‘Healthy Nationalism,’
both in its inclusion of curricular elements such as ‘love for one’s country’ and ‘respect for
one’s ancestors,’ and in its emergence in the wake of school-related incidents. The two mostprominent incidents were the 2011 suicide of Ootsu Middle School student and the suicide of
the 2013 Sakuranomiya High School Basketball Captain. These were extensively covered bymedia, and mentioned in the Abe Administration’s 2014 ‘Meeting for the Realization of the
Resuscitation of Education”.86 The failure of normative consciousness and ‘downturn ofchildren’s morals’ as explained by Abe, is very similar to the social ills stated by Nakasone in
an interview 30 years prior. 87 Nakasone’s ad-hoc council for education, the Rinkyoushin,focused on ‘the substantialisation’ of moral education, family and community, andrecommended stricter training for teachers within the field of moral education88. Thesesuggestions are similarly reflected in the current Abe Administration’s reform of Moral
Education, where they emphasize community and family involvement, introduce mandatory
moral education training for teachers and an emphasis on the ‘neglected values such as public
service, self-discipline, morals and attachment to and affection for community and country.89 .
I will now further analyze the criticism and content of the moral education books, and, among
other things, look at why these books are more likely to reinforce group mentality.

86

Abe Administration, Meeting for the Realization of the Resuscitation of Education, first meeting, 2014: 14
Abe, 2006. Policy Speech by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the 166th Session of the Diet, provisionaltranslation, and Hood, Japanese Education Reform, 80.
88
Hood, Japanese Education Reform, 80. Here he also cites prior work by Schoppa, 1991: 66 and Kyoiku
Seisaku Kenkyukai, 1987: 135-136
89
Abe, 2006. Policy Speech by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the 166th Session of the Diet, provisionaltranslation, NHK 2013, “Why should we make Moral Education Official”, and Ministry of Education’s‘Sweeping Reform of Moral Education’, 2015.
8728

5 Criticism of Kokoro no Nooto
5.1 Miyake and Irie
There are two prevailing works of criticism on Kokoro no Nooto. Irie Youko’s Textbooks Are
Dangerous and Miyake Akikos Thinking about Moral Education, both of which were writtenvery early in the book’s tenure as the government-approved moral education textbook. These
works focus on the political and ideological implications and dangers, and their criticism iscomplimented by the more utilitarian criticism from MEXT’s own educational committee,
focusing instead on the book’s practical shortcomings. Before examining the similarities
between Kokoro no Nooto and Watashitachi no Doutoku, however, I will first detail thecriticism of Kokoro no Nooto.
Irie Youko’s book Textbooks Are Dangerous tackles the many potentially negative influencesthat textbooks can have on children and society large. Irie’s book emphasizes topics such as
nationalism, citizenship education, patriotism and whitewashing of history, specificallyhistory books. She refers to things such as the exclusion of certain topics, idolization of
inaccurate historical times and instilling of certain ideologies on children.90 As previously
discussed, these are also the prevailing topics in the contemporary debate on moral education.
The book was written partially in response to the then newly issued Kokoro no Nooto, but her
criticism is even more relevant with the 2014 released Watashitachi no Doutoku, as I will
later argue.
In her chapter ‘A fiction called your own Kokoro no Nooto,’ Irie argues that it is a particularly
cynical and careful hand that has designed the textbook, and that there is a special kind of
psychology at play. From the opening pages, the books invites children to personalize it andmake the book their own. Written in small letters under the square where they are asked to put
their name, the book tells them ‘Let’s work together to make this book precious and one of akind.’ Irie refers to this message as the book asking the children to become its
guardian/protector. A few pages later, the book has the same message: ‘This book is your90

Irie, Textbooks are Dangerous,

29

precious thing. Let’s write down your great and perfectly suited name. Then, let’s draw
drawings, put pictures and make this a cover that is only yours.’91
She points out the consistent use of certain key phrases like ‘Yours only’ (anatadakeno), andargues that most children will be left with the impression that this book is their rare andprecious possession, and something there is only one of in the whole world.92 Further, it gives
the impression that this is not a textbook that the government has mass-printed and publishedto every school and child in Japan, but rather that it is something that the government printed
entirely on their behalf. She labels this the government using a two-fold method of imposing
their will. The government creates the book, and Irie claims that by covering the book in theirown drawings and deciding the books name, it becomes a synchronization of nationalism andthe private person. During my fieldwork at Hatomori Elementary School, I observed a similar
result in that children seem far more receptive to influence once they have imparted a piece ofthemselves, or ‘made something their own.’
While schoolchildren are allowed to name the books whatever they want, they tend to end up
with somewhat similar names. At an elementary school Irie visited, the younger children had
given their notebooks following titles: ‘notebook of dreams,’ ‘air-balloon of the heart,’ ‘kindheart,’ and at another school, the older children had titled them ‘lifetime book,’ ‘book of thechanging heart,’ ‘notebook of the future.’ While there are no explicitly stated wrong names,
these would definitely fall within the category of obviously ‘correct’ names. According to oneof the teachers there, the titles were noticeably different from one another, but they still fell
well within the MEXT’s guidelines and intended answers, and that the titles felt like typically‘government-approved’ names.93
Further answers at a third school included ‘bridge to the heart,’ ‘shining heart,’ ‘voice of theheart,’ ‘notebook of dreams,’ and ‘notebook for finding oneself,’ among other similar titles.
Though they were not identically written, they all echoed the same keywords such as dreams,
shining or bright, or something related to self-discovery. Irie points out that the book is not a
textbook that gives the children the correct answers outright, but encourages them to findthem through other clues and ideas. The book is laced with messages telling the children to91

Irie, Textbooks are Dangerous, 132-133, my translation
Irie, Textbooks are Dangerous, 133-134
93
Irie, Textbooks are Dangerous, 13492

30

discover themselves, but as Irie, and another scholar, Miyake,94 both warn, the children do not
go into themselves, but rather reflect the answers they believe to be correct. This isexemplified in the names the children suggested for their notebook. Irie claims that they are
not giving their own answers, but rather reflecting the Ministry of Education’s correct
answers. While they are doing this, they are being tricked, or even brainwashed, into
believing that these answers came from themselves all along.95
The message of self-discovery is not just present at the beginning, but more or less permeates
the entire textbook. Many assignments and chapters begin with the headline ‘A peek into
oneself’ or ‘Let’s discover you.’ This agrees with my own observations of the teacher subtly
correcting the children’s answers in moral education class and adjusting their opinions, or insome cases outright stigmatize them for holding the minority opinion, and then presenting the
new and corrected versions as ‘their own.’

5.2 Brainwashing or interpellation?
Irie argues that this is brainwashing, but I would argue that instead of ‘brainwashing’ them,
moral education aims to interpellate children. Interpellation, or hailing, in Althusserian theoryis the act of naming a person and forcing them to become a ‘subject.’ For example, a smallchild seeing an average person and saying ‘mama, look at the black man.’96 The man’s
identity is then that of a black man, not whatever other identity he may have been occupying,and from that point on his identity has partially been altered by this act of interpellation.
Teachers, especially using moral education supplements, exercise a similar kind of powerover students in marking them as either good or bad. Some of the changes made to moral
education include the use of negative and positive examples, referred to as ‘bad examples
from which one can learn’ (haneikyoushi) and ‘most moral’ (saikou doutoku). Such examples,
however, only serve to strengthen the children’s normative perception of what sort ofbehaviors are ‘good’ and ‘bad,’ and thereby risk putting them into simple categories of ‘bad’
and ‘good’ children. Polarizing moral issues, and student identities, between good and evil.

94

Miyake, Thinking About Notebook of the Heart,
Irie, Textbooks are Dangerous, 133-136
96
Nesta Devine, Pedagogy and Subjectivity: Creating our own Students (Waikato: Waikato Journal of
Publishing, 2003), 2-3
95

31

The power to ‘interpellate,’ however, resides in the teacher rather than in the teachingsupplements. Under the current system, teachers tend to prohibit students from bringing themoral education books home, and exercise great control over them whenever the books are
employed in class, i.e. collect the books when they are not in use, only use select assignments
and texts in class. Thus, moral education becomes an ideological framework within whichteachers exercise a great degree of control. If the teacher is aware of their capabilities within
this field they can either work towards ‘creating’ the ideal children that they want, or simply
reinforce their existing impression, i.e. a teacher who has reached the conclusion that one ofher pupils is a ‘bad student’ can sometimes continuously reinforce this impression. Since thechildren will only see the reflection of the reflection that the teacher shows them, they areespecially vulnerable to criticism that labels them. Interpellation is presented as a constantprocess, one that continues out into our adult lives, but it is at the height of its effectivenesswhen the children are in their secondary socialization and creating their core identity.
Interpellation, however, is a process that is considered inherent to human interaction it occurs
regardless of the teacher’s intention. It is perhaps stronger or more easily emphasized in moral
education, but the teachers’ roles and ability to influence a child’s mental growth is not
limited to that particular class. Further, the teachers also answer to the school’s rules andguidelines concerning correct behavior. Therefore, the creation or ‘good’ and ‘bad’ students
do not only occur in moral education classes, and while this is not a defense against a brand of
curriculum which forces children to either conform or be resigned to maladjusted ‘outsiders’
it is a defense against criticism that moral education forces a set of ideals onto children. Somewould argue that the molding of children into citizens is one of the secondary functions of aschool, and in order to do this the school attempts to instill a set of ideals onto its pupils. Iriediffers between the creating of democratic actors and ‘imperial citizens’ in her criticism of
moral education, but the Nikkyoso limits their criticism to any kind of class that ‘forces ideals
onto children.’97

5.3 Added criticism by Kasahara
Perhaps ahead of her time, Irie voiced a third criticism of the distribution of the textbooks
which she feels speaks to the intent of MEXT. The book is introduced to school nurse

97

Irie, Textbooks are Dangerous,32

association meetings, PTA meetings, and teacher’s conferences, as well as public places likelarge libraries and community centers. Irie argue that the distribution is MEXT’s way ofproclaiming their correct moral education policy to society at large, as opposed to a carefulconsideration of the children’s privacy and the careful development of their minds. The
distribution becomes a political statement and not a measure towards solving private issues.
Her argumentation that the use and manipulation of children’s minds constitutes as aninvasion of privacy conflicts with the Ministry of Education’s current hopes. Much of Irie’s
concerns never came to pass with Kokoro no Nooto as a result of the Ministry’s limited legal
authority. With the officialization of moral education set to 2017, her concerns are bear more
relevance to Watashitachi no Doutoku, even more so now that the Ministry of Education has
singled out lack of community involvement as one of the main reasons for Kokoro no Nooto’s
failure.98 Private matters best handled by the child’s parents in unison with the teacher now
runs the risk of not just involving the community at large, but also new separately handledanti-bullying office and the local authorities.99
Hikaru Kasahara argued for similar ideas in her brief article ‘On the Manipulation behind
Kokoro no Nooto.’ She noted the large sums of money spent manufacturing the books, 730
million yen on manufacturing costs alone, and that while MEXT lacked the legal authority to
enforce its use, they applied considerable unofficial pressure. Using non-anonymous surveys
as a method of singling out schools that had not successfully implemented their moral
education classes and subsequently applying pressure. Kasahara is on point when addressing
the obscene manufacturing and distribution costs, but we can later observe that the Ministry
was ultimately unsuccessful in their endeavor to enforce use of Kokoro no Nooto. It is,however, relevant to the understanding of the MEXT’s willingness to micromanage its
implementation. She also highlights the circumstances under which Kokoro no Nooto wasapproved, arguing that while it admittedly was a period of rising juvenile delinquency andbullying, it was far from as bad as the media suggested and that the extensive coverage ofthese issues were to facilitate an educational reform. Likewise, the current debate surrounding
moral education has fallen victim to extensive agenda setting, and that rather than address
academic concerns Watashitachi no Doutoku’s content is being used as a response toimagined public outcry.100

98

Ministry of Education Meeting 18th Moral Education Meeting, 2015 transcript
Irie, Textbooks are Dangerous, 135-136
100
Kasahara, Manipulation behind Kokoro no Nooto, 1-2
9933

Kasahara’s assessment is similar to Miyake and Irie’s in that she also criticizes the opening
parts of the books for their eagerness to have children share information about themselves, butchooses to focus on another aspect.101 Given the circumstances of its emergence, andgovernmental curriculum guidelines at the time, Kokoro no Nooto’s aim at fixing the
problems found in the minds of Japanese schoolchildren. In other words, it implies that the
problems related to juvenile delinquency and bullying lies in the mind of young children, as
flaws inherent in the Japanese system of education.
The Japanese educational system is one which Kasahara refers to as ‘...focusing on creating
corporate warriors in the post-war period’ and further points out that ‘This educational system
has emphasized correctness and efficiency, and has excluded people that are individualistic,
considering them hard to deal with as individualism was shunned.’102 Her final criticism
coincides with Irie’s especially, as she points out the more obvious cases of nationalism in the
textbook, such as a boy pictured next to the words ‘Respect the rights of other people’ and‘Perform duties.’ Barely visible in the corner are the words ‘Assert your rights.’ There arealso several section that mention ‘love of the country’ and ‘missions to protect and nurture
tradition,’ all of which are in line with the governmental curriculum guidelines.103

5.4 Connection between Kokoro no Nooto andWatashitachi no Doutoku
I wish to call attention to similarities between Kokoro no Nooto’s emergence in 2001 and there-emergence of moral education in the 1980s under Nakasone. Both were periods whereprime ministers whose political agenda were mainly rooted in economics used moral
education as a counter to extensive media coverage on the rise of juvenile delinquency.
Current Prime Minister Abe was elected under similar circumstances, but despite its turbulent
tenure as the government-approved textbook for moral education, Kokoro no Nooto arose
under similar circumstances to almost all of its predecessors, and subsequently its successor.
The trend of using cute characters to appeal to young children continues into Watashitachi no
Doutoku. In the first section, things related to one self, there is a page dedicated to the ‘proper

101

Kasahara, Manipulation behind Kokoro no Nooto, 3
Kasahara, Manipulation behind Kokoro no Nooto, 3-4
103Irie, Textbooks are Dangerous, 135-136
102

34

lifestyle.’ There are four columns, each dedicated to a particular activity, and each column
accompanied by a cartoon character or two. Breakfast rice has the shape of a superhero next
to a column telling the children how important it is to eat breakfast. Next to the column on theimportance of going to bed early, there is a sinister-looking character, he is the ‘staying up
late devil.’104

104

Ministry of Education, 2014, Watashitachi no Doutoku 1st and 2nd grade edition: 21-2235

6 Analysis of Textbooks
6.1 Index and the four pillars of the ningenzou
In this section, I will analyze the concrete examples from the 1st and 2nd graders edition of
Watashitachi no Doutoku. I will do this using my own observation, the criticism by both Irie
and Tokitsu, and interpellation as a backdrop for the analysis.
The cover shows a field of small dirt mounds with a patch of grass and a single plant on top ofthem. There is a close of up one of the mounds and it has a ladybug crawling toward the planton one side and two ants on the other. Suspended in the air above the plant is a small bee
looking down on the other insects. Inside there is a small square in which the children canwrite their names, the name of their school and what class they belong to. On the second page,
before the index, there is a double-paged image of a grass field and an open sky with the text
‘Watashitachi no Doutoku,’ a motif popularized in the previous textbook Kokoro no Nooto.105
The index shows that the book is separated into four parts and a particular color is dedicatedto each part;
1) Looking at one self (purple)2) Together with people (yellow)
3) Touching nature (green)
4) Together with everybody (blue)
Each of these parts corresponds to a tenet of the ideal person in MEXT’s moral education
guidelines, which are divided into things related to oneself, things related to others, things
related to nature and things related to society and the nation. The connection is fairly selfevident, it is also a direct continuation of Kokoro no Nooto, and these four pillars arerecurring themes in moral education’s past and current curriculum. This is also the reason
why it is possible to consider the relevance of Kokoro no Nooto’s criticism in reference to105

Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition, 2014: cover and index.
Ministry of Education, Kokoro no Nooto, 2001.

36

Watashitachi no Doutoku. MEXT also defined Watashitachi no Doutoku as both a revision
and a continuation of Kokoro no Nooto.106
Every part is subsequently divided into 3-5 chapters, each of which corresponds to MEXT’s
elaboration on moral education class content, provided in their governmental guidelines. The
chapter division is as follows:Part 1 – Looking at one self
Chapter 1: Well-regulated feeling of everyday
Chapter 2: Properly doing the things you have to do
Chapter 3: Advancing things you think are good
Chapter 4: Obedient and carefreePart 2 – Together with people
Chapter 1: Pleasant and correct behavior
Chapter 2: Kindly, with a warm heart
Chapter 3: Getting along with your friends
Chapter 4: People whose care you are inPart 3 – Touching nature
Chapter 1: Cherishing life
Chapter 2: Being kind to living things

106

Tokitsu, An Analysis of Watashitachi No Doutoku in Elementary School, 31-33

37

Chapter 3: With a refreshing heart

Part 4 – Together with everybody
Chapter 1: Keeping promises and deadlines
Chapter 2: Appreciating the value of work
Chapter 3: Being useful in the family
Chapter 4: Having fun with activities at school
Chapter 5: Having affection for one’s hometown
Now, when contrasted with the governmental guidelines for the 1st and 2nd grade moral
education, there is very little room for uncertainty as to their connection. Tokitsu Kei,professor at Hiroshima University, pointed out the similarity in her own essay and also notes
how even the opening poem refers to the four pillars.107
Part 1 – Things related to oneself
1. Caring for one’s health and safety, being careful with things and money, being prepared
for the daily life, not being selfish and living a well-regulated life.
2. Properly doing the work and studies one has to do.
3. Separating between good and bad things, proceeding with the things one thinks aregood.
4. Not lying or doing hanky-panky, living obediently and carefree.

Part 2 – Things related to people

107

38

Tokitsu, An Analysis of Watashitachi No Doutoku in Elementary School, 3

1. Honest greetings, use of language, careful and bright behavior.
2. Treating and appreciating the old and young people near you with a warm heart.
3. Helping and getting along with your friends.
4. Being grateful for the people whose care you are in.

Part 3 – Things related to nature and sublime things
1. Being delighted in existence, having a hard that appreciates life
2. Being kind to nature near oneself, treating animals and plants with a gentle heart
3. Touch beautiful things, have a refreshing mind

Part 4 – Things related to groups, society and the nation
1. Keeping promises and deadlines, being careful with things that everybody uses
2. Knowing the value of hard work and working for everybody
3. Loving ones parents and grandparents, willingly helping with housework and knowing
the joy of making oneself useful in the household
4. Loving ones teacher, being kind to the people at school and having fun with school andclass activities.
5. Having love for one’s hometown and having fun with its culture and activities.
Not only are the topics more or less identical, but the choice of wording in many categories isalmost identical. The sentences using words like carefree and obedient are phrased almost
identically.

39

6.2 Introduction and ‘how to use this book’
Moving on to the introductory part of textbook, the first two sections before Part 1 are titled‘How to use this book’ and ‘Please teach me about you.’‘How to use this book’ details three scenarios in which it is OK for children to use thetextbook. The first, colored red, is at school. They are allowed to use it in the moral education
lesson hour, other lessons and after lesson breaks, when they are with their families at home,and finally, in the region, when they are together with the people in their region. Each part has
an accompanying picture of a small child working together with either classmates, an old man
with a sign and an adult woman, presumably their mother. Each picture in the book also has asmall catchphrase next to it, for example in the classroom it says, ‘Let’s try write and paint’ or‘Let’s read the reading part and think.’ 108
These explanations are currently irrelevant to the schoolchildren who use the books as thecurrent ruling consensus, at least until the Abe administration’s reform is implemented, is thatteachers do not allow students to bring the textbook’s home. Since the textbooks are
introduced at PTA meetings, teacher associations and other similar community meetings, theexplanation functions instead as an invitation to the children’s guardians and teachers. As I
observed during my fieldwork the teacher always, and without fail, collects the textbooks at
the end of each lesson hour and then counts them. Several members of the Ministry of
Education (unnamed) argue that this is why the Kokoro no Nooto was largely ineffectual as ananti-bullying measure and failed to establish itself as anything more than a teachingsupplement.109

6.3 Tell me about yourself
The next part, ‘Teach me things about yourself,’ has two forms for the children to fill out, one
marked ‘1st year’ in pink and another marked ‘2nd year’ in bright blue. The form asks thechildren the following things: a) Favorite food, b) thing you are good at, c) precious thing, d)thing you were the most happy about, e) favorite game, f) thing you want to learn how to do,

108
109

40

Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition: 4-5
Tokitsu, An Analysis of Watashitachi No Doutoku in Elementary School, 30

and g) dream for the future. 110This is similar to the opening section in Kokoro no Nooto andsomething that both Irie and Miyake heavily criticized. Miyake in particular argued twothings:111
1) Children will not necessarily answer honestly
2) Children might start adapting to their dishonest answers
The first point is self-explanatory. She claims that most children are aware that not allanswers are equally correct, even when asked to simply state things about themselves.
Children are often given ‘clues’ in a number of ways, the teacher will often second-guessanswers that aren’t satisfactory or conforms to the curriculum, or even the youngest children
have a tendency to confirm their answers with their classmates. The first reason why theymight give dishonest answers is that the teacher will examine the book, and that they might beasked to show their answers to their classmates. As such, the child will sometimes write down
the things they think their teacher and classmates want to see. As Miyake puts it, instead ofbeing a section about me, it becomes a section about the ‘me it’s OK to show’. Ideally, it
should be a page where the child shows off the things they are proud of, interested in andlove, as opposed to a list of socially acceptable things.112
The second point is that once the children have written down a set of correct answers about
who they are, what they appreciate and what they like to or want to do, some of them will
start changing in accordance with these false answers. The dishonest answers are theirperceived ideal self, not necessarily the self they want, but the one they believe others want.
They will begin changing to fit the new and idealized [me], and not the real [me]. Miyake
describes this as a materialization of the ‘receiver’s me,’ as opposed to the real one.113
Althusser’s theory of interpellation is relevant, as the children are never told outright that theiranswers are wrong or dissatisfactory, but rather they are interpellated into becoming theidealized children as presented in the moral education textbooks. There are very concrete
examples of what the moral education textbooks deem acceptable and correct behavior, andthis behavior is labeled as the behavior of a good child, which the children are subsequently
110

Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition: 6-7
Miyake, Thinking About Notebook of the Heart, 15-17
112
Miyake, Thinking About Notebook of the Heart,16-17
113
Miyake, Thinking About Notebook of the Heart,18-19
111

41

recommended to identify with. Nesta Devine analyzes the act of interpellation in elementary
school, and argues for the possibility of teachings consciously hailing different kinds ofstudents into being by using similar techniques. The teacher provides the framework for
information and supplies the children with enough information for them to ‘interpellatethemselves.’114
MEXT’s own explanation/analysis of Watashitachi no Doutoku explains that the children are
not taught ‘why’ in the lower years. In their analysis ‘About Watashitachi no Doutoku,’ they
explain that the lower years are to be taught to follow rules and differentiate between rightand wrong. A few sentences later they specify that the upper years are to understand the rules
and the difference between right and wrong, i.e. the younger pupils are not taught why certain
behavior is wrong, only that it is.115
In line with my observations, the younger students are given both subtle and clear hints as towhat is right and what is wrong. When reading the Ministry analysis, one is given theimpression that there will be clear indication of what is wrong and what is right, but this is notalways the case. There is a section with four images and accompanying text asking thechildren if they think the following behavior is acceptable. The four show examples ofsomeone observing the following situations ‘Someone is talking in class,’ ‘Someone has
dropped garbage on the ground,’ ‘Someone is drawing on the wall,’ and ‘An elderly citizen
wants to sit on the bus.’ The title of the page reads ‘In times like these, what is the right thing
to do? Let's discuss it with everyone.’ 116
The following pages have four columns marked ‘something you did that you thought was
good’ and ‘what you felt when you did it’, asking the children to write down their experiencesof doing something they thought was good. The first page is for their 1st year answer and thesecond is marked 2nd year.117 The phrasing is, as Miyake pointed out, asking the children to
write down something they ‘thought’ was good, but given the rigid context of the question
they are actually asked to repeat what the book is telling them.

114

The theory is that children are used as actors in the creation of the self. The teacher has a reflection of thestudent, which the teacher shows to the student. Subsequently the child uses this reflection in the formation of its
self, becoming a reflection of the reflection that the teacher shows him.
115
Ministry of Education, 2015: 6-7.
116
Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition: 34-35
117
Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition: 36-37

42

6.4 Stories
This section is followed by a story about Ponta and Kanta, two raccoons that are best friends.
While playing in the park Kanta has discovered a hidden place in the backside of the park's
hill, where they are not allowed to go. He invites and goads Ponta to join him, but Ponta, after
an inner struggle, decides to speak up in a loud voice and say that he cannot go because it is aplace they are not allowed to visit. ‘I'm not going. I decided after thinking about it really
hard.’118
In this particular story, as it was taught to the first graders I observed, the pupils are not given
an explicit reason why they should obey the rule, nor is there provided a particular reason for
Kanta’s desire to go there, other than perhaps curiosity. The choice that Ponta makes, as it ispresented, is not one that factors in any kind of extenuating circumstances or contextual
variation, i.e. whether there is a justifiable reason for wanting to go down the park’s hill or
what implications breaking the rules might carry, but rather a choice of whether or not he is aperson who obeys the rules. The children are presented with two characters with which they
may identify, Kanta, who breaks the rules, or Ponta who follows them. This is theinterpellative power of the story. It is further enhanced by the Ministry’s tendency, as noted
earlier, to ‘deceive’ children into believing that they make these choices themselves. Ponta
claims to reach the conclusion of not breaking the rules on his own, which in turn makes him
a good student. The children, as they react to the story, more or less immediately identify
Kanta as a bad person.
The intent behind the story, to implore children to obey the rules, however, can be readily
jeopardized by the intervention of the teacher. In the case of the school I observed, the teacher
first asked the children to share stories where they had broken the rules. Several examples ofwhich he did not judge, but almost applaud. One particular example was of a child who had,
together with his parents, pretended to be taller than he actually was in order to get onto a ridein an amusement park. The teacher considered this and decided that it was ‘all right’ since hewas given his parent’s permission to bend the rules. The pupil seemed very hesitant to admit
to his part in the lie, but after the initial reluctance and the teacher’s explanation, he concluded
that he had done the right thing after all. The teacher underlined that the lie was only
permissible because of the parents’ involvement. In a sense, this goes against the moral of the118

Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition: 38-41

43

story, where Ponta reaches the conclusion on his own, or at the least reaches the conclusionthat he should obey the rules.
The class explored a similar theme in the story titled ‘Mister Moon is watching’ (otsuki samaga miteiru), an adaption of an old story by the same name. The story follows a small child andher parents as they are walking home at night. The child, having concluded that it is okay tosteal as long as no one is watching, tries to reach out and grab an apple that is hanging from atree in the neighbor’s garden. The father then scolds her and explains that someone is always
watching, the moon.119 Following this story, some of the children were able to reason thatstealing was wrong even when no one, not even the moon, was watching them. The teacher
further emphasized the fact that stealing was always wrong.
The last section, dedicated to proper behavior, has a list of things one is not allowed to do.
There are six pictures next to the title ‘There are things you can’t do, you know.’ These six
pictures are accompanied by a single sentence, explaining the forbidden action inside.
-‘You can’t lie’ together with a picture of a girl smiling and holding something behindher back-‘You can’t hit your friends’ together with a picture of a boy hitting another boy ‘-‘You can’t take other people’s things’ together with a picture of a boy stealing a pencil
from someone’s pencil case-

‘You can’t bully’ together with a picture of three students walking away from a sadboy-‘You can’t say bad things’ together with a picture of two students badmouthing a girl-‘You can’t hide people’s things’ together with the picture of a girl hiding anothergirl’s shoes120

On the very last page, there is a story titled ‘I honestly felt better,’ which provides yet anotherindirect way of informing children of ‘correct’ behavior without directly telling them. The

The story is listed in ‘My Moral Education: Moral Education Hour Guideline and Tricks for Method, 2003:
56 (http://www.bunkei.co.jp/d_magazine/pdf/19kojin.pdf). Variations of the story also include the mother being
the thief (http://www1.m-net.ne.jp/dai8/img/p14/0616.pdf) and the father(http://hukumusume.com/douwa/kisetu/tukimi/html/04.htm)
120
Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade Edition: 43-44
119

44

story is about a boy who told a lie. When he ripped out a page in one of his books, he blamed
it on his little brother. After feeling bad, he decided to tell the truth and immediately felt
better.121
The final part of the 1st and 2nd grade edition of Watashitachi no Doutoku is dedicated to thefourth of the four virtues, ‘one’s role in relation to everybody’ and titled thereafter as‘together with everybody’ (minna to tomo ni). The chapter is divided into five sub-sections,dealing with 1) upholding promises and rules 2) knowing the value of work 3) being useful athome 4) having fun with school activities and 5) having affection for one’s hometown. The
first two pages are a double spread of a lively town with text explaining that it is ‘everybody’s
town’ and that the town is filled with things that ‘everybody uses,’ and text asking thechildren to discuss what things might be like without rules.122

6.5 Moral education and gender equality
Gender equality is a point of contention in the Ministry of Education’s curriculum for moral
education. The course of study does not explicitly support any kind of unfair or unequal
gender-based treatment, but it does reinforce a very traditional gender-based division of labor.
Japan is currently performing relatively poorly on the World Economic Forum’s rankings ofgender equality, where it ranks 104th out of 142 countries ranked, and among its many issues,
finding full-time employment for women is perhaps the most challenging one.123 Ever sincethe ‘Equal Employment Opportunity Law’ was passed in 1985, the situation has in fact
worsened for most ordinary women. Equality of opportunity came at the cost of several
benefits, such as menstrual leave, and saw many women relegated from the desirable career
track and life-long contracts to temporary employment.124 In other words, the law only
provided equality of opportunity for women who were already privileged, i.e. the wealthy andwell educated. Since temporary employment is not financially beneficial to families with one
other main provider women often end up staying home. Prime Minister Abe has made several

121

Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade Edition, 44-46
Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade Edition, 2-3 (index) and 118-158 (actual
content)
123
World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap 2014, Japan (http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gapreport-2014/economies/#economy=JPN)
124
Chizuko Ueno. Gender Equality and Multiculturalism under Japanese Neo-Liberalist Reform in the Era of
Globalization (Sendai, Touhoku University Press, 2010), 7-8
12245

promises to improve the situation for Japanese women, claims that conflict with his paststatements and vision of a ‘traditional Japan.’125
This idea of a traditional Japan being a country with gender-based division of labor has long
been challenged by feminist Ueno Chizuko, who argues that the nuclear family is a fairly
modern creation. Her critique of the modern family claims that it functions as a form of social
control where women work as glorified servants at home, a controversial claim according tosome, and are denied self-realization through employment in the public sphere and financial
independence.126 I would argue that some of the criticism Japan’s gender issues receive are a
result of Japan being viewed through a Northern European lens, especially when it comes toeconomy. The wife is traditionally the one who is in charge of disposing of the householdincome and manages the family’s finances. Further, given the long, sometimes extreme, hours
that Japanese salary men dedicate to their companies, I would be reluctant to claim that any
one gender holds dominion over the other. Ueno does, however, make a strong point when it
comes to the two spheres of control. The father works in the public sphere and the mother isin charge of the domestic.127 This paradigm is notably replicated in the moral education books
as well, where the mother is in charge of all domestic chores and the father is only spoken of
in relation to working.
Many of the assignments that involve the schoolchildren doing housework typically shows achild doing dishes with their mother. Similarly, all texts invoke traditional perceptions ofgender-based division of labor. One text, where a child talks about being useful in the homementions how the child always helps his mother with housework and helps take care of his
father when he returns from work.128 Whether this is a stereotype or not is a separate
discussion, and certainly beyond the scope of this thesis, but this hardly reinforces an attitude
of gender equality, which is hailed as a cornerstone in modern democracies. On the other
hand, the book is careful to have children of both gender accompany their mother in doinghousehold chores. There are several stories where the main character is a boy who helps withcaring for his younger siblings or doing the dishes.129

125

Abe, 2006. Policy Speech by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the 166th Session of the Diet, provisionaltranslation
126
Chizuko Ueno. The Modern Family in Japan: Its Rise and Fall, Tokyo, (Trans Pacific Press, 2009), 63-68
127
Ueno, The Modern Family in Japan, 69-74
128
Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition, 140-141
129
Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition, 142-143 (This page is also notablefor having the father partake in the cooking)46

Such criticism is often countered with the argument that the moral education books reflect
contemporary reality and not an ideal one, but the argument is inconsistent with the rest of the
textbooks. As I previously discussed, the concept of Edoshigusa has been included solely for
its use as an idealized society and not because it is grounded in historical truth, andShimomura, Minister of Education, claimed that they did not teach history but used
Edoshigusa to display ideal states of correct manner and etiquette.130 If this is true, then does
the texts involving traditional household display an ideal state of gender-based division oflabor? While this would not conflict with what many perceives to be the Abe administration’s
underlying ideology, it would certainly run counter to the curricular guidelines for moral
education.
If it is not the case of an idealized state, but rather supposed to serve as a reflection ofcontemporary reality, then that is also worthy of criticism. The decline of the nuclear family isa well-documented phenomenon, and in her book Unmasking Japan Today from 1993, Fumie
Kumaga argues that more than 8 out of 10 Japanese families did not conform to the image ofthe typical nuclear family.131 With this in mind, it is clear that the Watashitachi no Doutoku
books do not conform to any objective and observable reality, but rather an idealized fiction,
just as Ueno argued that the nuclear family was never a reality in Japan, but a social
construction to which families later conformed.
The division of labor is not the lone stereotype that is being reinforced. A recurring theme,
and the critical point in Ueno’s theory, is that the mother is too often the sole source ofemotional connection at home. Almost all emotional connections, as they are displayed in
Watashitachi no Doutoku, are between the child and its mother. The father is consistently
absent from any kind of emotional exchange. This is a highly interpellative act, as the pupils
who use these books will perceive a woman’s sole role as that of an emotional provider. This
does not foster a consciousness that might understand women as versatile and capable agents.
None of the examples of an ideal family have both parents in employment, and this reflects anarguably unfortunate reality for many Japanese women seen from the Scandinavian point ofview. They are treated as equals during childhood, but presented with vastly different
expectations for adulthood. The children, provided that they identify as ‘good children’ are130

News23, 2015
Fumie Kumagai. Unmasking Japan Today (Westport: Praeger, 1993). This topic is explored throughout theentirety of her essay.
131

47

expected to follow the examples presented to them in the moral education books i.e. ‘good
children don’t steal, etc.’ and they are subsequently interpellated into this behavior. They will
therefore experience a similar form of interpellative pressure when reading stories with adultactors, and be made into ‘good mothers’ and ‘good fathers.’
There are a few exceptions, notably with the community’s elderly functioning as a source of
wisdom, and the father sometimes acting in unison with the mother, but the mother is rarely
absent from such an exchange.132 The gender pattern is even mimicked in stories that do not
specifically pertain to the household situation. Stories about the animal kingdom where themother is treated as a source of emotional comfort and the father leaves the home to search forfood.133
I observed several classes in which the children were told a story titled ‘Bradley’s Invoice,’ astory that appears in both Watashitachi no Doutoku and several other moral education
books.134 The story is of a young boy who handed his mother an invoice where had written
down all of his tasks and how much money he wanted for each of them i.e. doing homework 1 dollar. The following day his mother handed him an envelope of money and an invoice ofher own, in which she had listed all of the household chores and written ‘0 dollars’ after eachof them. Bradley, crying, then realized what a great mother he had.135 The children were thenencouraged to list all of the great things their mothers did or had done for them. Not a single
child, nor the teacher, mentioned anything beyond the domestic realm. To my knowledge
there were several of the children who had working mothers, one of them was even a famous
artist, none of which were mentioned.

6.6 Moral education as a form of failing publicpedagogy
Public pedagogy, also referred to as public sphere pedagogy, is an approach to education thatconnects the classroom to real world civic activities136. This typically involves trips to public
institutions such as the town hall or even the supermarket. There are traces of this pedagogical132

Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition, 142-143
Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition, 88-90 and 96-99
134
I observed the book as it was used in the 3rd and 4th grade edition of Watashitachi no Doutoku
135
Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 3rd and 4th grade edition, 142-146
136
University of East London, ‘What is Public Pedagogy’133

48

approach in the Ministry of Education’s goals for moral education, specifically in that theywish to involve the local community, subsequently local businesses or organizations, in the
moralizing process. There is already a degree of community intertwined into the moral
education curricula with its focus on festivals and inter-school events, and as pointed out,
albeit critically, by Irie Youko. Cultural critic Henry Giroux argues that the observation ofpolitical and moral practices are a necessary function in public pedagogy, and that pedagogy
is an inherently moral practice.137 The curricular guidelines list the learning of democratic
processes as a vital part to the third section of moral education, the section dedicated tooneself in relation to society, and despite being conducted as a part of social studies, field
trips should be considered as much a part of moral education as they are a part of social
studies. Moral education’s status as an unofficial class has permitted a sort of branching of its
influence into other classes, as I will later argue.
There is a fine line between politicized pedagogy and political pedagogy, the first denoting afirm and rigid moral stance whereas the second refers to teaching students to engage in arange of moral ideas and perspectives.138 The oft-hailed goal of moral education is to makeJapanese children equipped to tackle all sorts of challenges using both intellectual and moral
judgment, which implies a sense of moral adaptability, but this is poorly reflected in the
textbooks.
Public sphere pedagogy functions, to some degree, as a counter to the curriculum’s
shortcomings. Teaching them the public processes does at the very least provide them withthe tools necessary to engage in moral and political issues outside school, even if thecurricular content inherently restricts a varied approach to moral issues. Giroux stresses theimportance of teaching children about social responsibility and raising an awareness of issues
such as poverty, and division of power and resources.139 Contrary to this, one might be led tobelieve when reading the Ministry of Education’s curricular guidelines, social responsibility islargely absent in Watashitachi no Doutoku. Students are taught that they have a responsibility,
or duty rather, to society, but without the contextual framework with which to understand theconsequences of things such as misuse of power. They are shaped to become tools for that
137

Henry Giroux. Public Pedagogy as Cultural Politics: Stuart Hall and the Crisis of Culture, Cultural Studies
Vol 14, Issue 2, (2000)
138
Henry Giroux. Doing Cultural Studies: Youth and the Challenge of Pedagogy¸ Harvard Educational Review
64, (1994)
139
Henry Giroux. Cultural Studies, Public Pedagogy and the Responsibility of Intellectuals (London: Routledge,2004), 6449

very misuse. They are taught to participate in democratic processes without applying criticalthinking, which makes them victims of a politicized pedagogy and not moral agents acting
freely.
This brand of public pedagogy also runs the risk of reinforcing social division when notviewed through a critical lens. When bringing children to a town hall meeting where 90% of
the attendees are elderly men, one reinforces, be it intentionally unintentionally, the truth thatmen dominate this particular public sphere.140 Without being taught how to think critically,
Japanese schoolchildren will accept any information as ‘truths.’ Public pedagogy as afunction in moral education then becomes instruction in how to further a politicized ideology
and not a course in how to engage in varied moral and political discourse. With this in mind,
one could argue that moral education works against its own curricular guidelines,
undermining democratic processes instead of facilitating the children’s future participation inthem. Similarly, to how they are taught to reinforce existing political ideologies they are alsotaught to reinforce social patterns in the home and local community.

140

I observed several classes in social studies where 3rd graders wrote summaries, and drew pictures, of theirfieldtrip to the city office.

50

7 Use of Textbooks
7.1 Observations of a typical class
There is a two-fold question connected to the use of textbooks in Japanese elementary
schools:
To what degree are the textbooks used when creating a lesson plan, and to what degree are thetextbooks employed in class? To answer both of these questions we draw on the moral
educational guidance plan (doutoku gakushuu shidouan), the specific summaries of classoutlines (tenkai taiyou) and empirical knowledge derived from observation. Unlike the otherclasses in Japanese elementary schools, the children are not allowed to bring their moral
education textbooks home. They are permanently left in the care of the teachers who handthem out at the start of the class and collect them at the end of the class. In fact, the children
are not allowed to open their textbooks unless they are either a) following the story alongside
the teacher and b) answering questions in the book itself. In the majority of the classes I
observed, the teachers were consistent in their use of textbooks. This consistency was,however, limited only to how much they would use moral education teaching material, notspecifically if they would use Watashitachi no Doutoku.
A standard class, as I observed them, is limited to 45 minutes and the class outline accounts
for about 42 minutes or so of that time, with a few minutes left over in case of trouble or
shortage of time. The class outline is divided into four parts:
Introduction 8 minutes
First part: 12-14 minutes
Latter part: 12-14 minutes
Finish: 8 minutes

Each of these are then subsequently divided into three categories:
1) Study activity
512) Main question and expected response
3) Method of responding to children’s reality/techniques for assessment
The study activity and the main question refers to the course of action that the teachers takeduring class, where as expected response and the techniques for assessment are pedagogicaltools the teachers use to evaluate the children. This structure and subsequent categorization
can be applied to the typical moral education class that I observed, which in turn reveals thedegree to which the textbooks were employed.
10-minute introduction: Desks are organized into a horseshoe and the teacher reveals the topic
of the day. Then, he or she asks the children to consider a particular question and guides thechildren’s answers so that they are relevant to the topic.
6 to 8-minute first part: The teacher hands out textbooks, tells the story and gets brief
feedback from students.
12 to 15-minute second part: The class conducts an empathy exercise, the answers are written
on the blackboard and the teacher also edits these to keep them relevant to the topic.
8 to 10-minute final: The children do an assignment in the textbook, there are closingcomments on the topic of the day, and the teacher collects answers and asks the children toorganize the desks back in place.
While the children are given the textbooks at the beginning of the class and they are notcollected until the very end, they are not actually used throughout the entire class. The
textbooks are used to follow the teacher’s story and then to do the assignment at the close of
the lesson.

7.2 What textbooks were used in class?
First and foremost, I wish to address the usage (or lack thereof) of the new textbook,
Watashitachi no Doutoku, in the moral education classes. The school I visited, Hatomori
elementary school, was referred to by one of the my contact teachers at Waseda as ‘a school
where moral education has been introduced.’ This means that it is a school where moral
education has put into use for a specific amount of time. A school where there moral
52education curriculum has been put into use is a school where the official curricula has beenvalidated in a sense, which I had confirmed when the teacher in charge of moral education(doutoku tantou) showed me the wide variety of books they used. Among these books were
Watashitachi no Doutoku, which, as she remarked, was brand new. So if they chose not to use
the book, it could not be because it was not available to them, as each classroom wasequipped with at least 12 copies. According to MEXT, the textbooks were distributed
nationwide in mid to late 2013, and this school seemingly received their shipment without any
problems.141
This is the list of the books that were used in the moral education classes at Hatomori
Elementary School from September to January 2014-15:
Watashitachi no doutoku (Our morals)
X-nensei no doutoku (X-grader’s morals)
Minna no doutoku (Everybody's morals)
Nantonaku (Somehow)
Kokoro Akaruku (Bright mind)
Yutakana kokoro (A rich mind)
Doutoku Bunkei (Morals collection)
In addition to these there were at least three other moral education textbooks that were
stocked in the classrooms, but not put to use in the classes I observed. These were:
Kokoro no Nooto (Notebook of the heart)
Kokoro wo Migaku (Polishing the mind)
Kokoro Takumashiku (A robust heart/mind)

141

Ministry of Education, ‘About Moral Education’, http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/doutoku/

53

There are also an even greater variety of moral education textbooks available for ordering
online, many of which are being used at other elementary schools in the same prefecture as
the school I observed. These books include, but are not limited to:
Akarui Kokoro (Bright mind)
Kokoro Tsunaide (Connecting minds)
Minna de Doutoku wo Kangaeru (Thinking about morality with everybody)
Doutoku (Morality)
Doutoku Kyouiku (Moral Education)
Kimi ga Ichiban Hikaru Toki (The time you shine the most)Nukumori (Warmth)
Michishirube (Guidepost)
Shougakusei no Doutoku (Elementary School Student's Morality)
Chuugakusei no Doutoku (Secondary School Student's Morality)

7.3 Similarities between the different textbooks
There are striking similarities between both the design, titles and content of the different
moral education textbooks being published. Firstly, the titles of the different textbooks tend tocome in two, possibly three different variations. The first, and perhaps simplest, is thestraightforward variation that simply states the name of the curriculum or at the very least hasa title referring to the course. The textbooks in this category are given titles like: Everybody's
Morality, Moral Education for Elementary School Students, and 2nd graders Morality.
The second variation of textbook titles often include keywords such as bright and warm, andmention the heart or mind, kokoro. Textbooks in this category are given names like Notebookof the Heart, Connecting Hearts and Bright Minds. These titles can be interpreted as softerand perhaps more inviting.

54

The third and final variation are the textbooks that are given names that are not necessarily
linked to the class itself. While someone with an understanding of the content might quickly
realize that these are books for moral education, the title itself does not reveal this. Textbooksin this category are given names like Somehow, Guidepost or The Time You Shine the Most.
Despite their differences, the themes are all concurrent with what is recognized as correct
moral curriculum, and more importantly, is tied to the content of the MEXT curricular
guidelines and overall aim for moral education. Every title is in some way related to the ideaof having a sound mind, working well with others and behaving ethically correct. Even the
single-word titles such as ‘warmth’ or ‘guidepost’, which are only loosely tied to the content,
still fits in neatly with the aforementioned guidelines.
Our Morals and Notebook of the Heart can be considered the archetype of these textbooks,
because they are MEXT's own produce and thusly fashioned after the then current curriculum,
but this does not mean that the other books have been created as a copy of these.
The last book in the list of moral education books used at Hatomori Elementary School,
Doutoku Bunkei, is actually a collection of stories used in various moral education books. To
my knowledge, some of these stories have been printed several times over.142 This also
applies to some of the stories told in Watashitachi no Doutoku, X-nensei no Doutoku and theoutdated Kokoro no Nooto. The difference is that Doutoku Bunkei is mainly a collection ofstories, whereas the other books are divided into thematic chapters, have assignments, etc.

7.4 Analysis of usage
When looking at the graph of the sampled 32 moral education classes I observed, we can seethat Watashitachi no Doutoku was only employed in six of them. The majority belonged to Xnensei no doutoku, which was used in 13 classes. Then followed Minna no Doutoku, which
was used in three classes. The collection of moral education stories Doutoku Bunkei was usedin two classes. Nantonaku, Kokoro Akaruku and Yutakana Kokoro were only used in one classeach. Finally, five of the classes were conducted without direct use of a moral education
textbook. Note that this does not exclude the use of a textbook in the planning of said lesson,on which there is placed no restriction or limit. Regardless of MEXT guidelines, teachers are
142

Meaning that they appear in different collections of Moral Education textbooks, for example The Moon is
Watching and Bradley’s Invoice

55

free to draw upon whatever they choose when preparing a class. This became clear whenobserving some classes in which the teacher went completely off the curriculum and otherclasses where it was followed to the letter. These 32 classes almost account for all of themoral education classes in the fall semester. Since I did not arrive at the school until late
September there are at least 5 classes that are unaccounted for, as well as another 5 that werecanceled in favor of other classes.
Different usage of textbooks by Hatomori Elementary School September 2014 – January
2015:
No Textbook
Yutakana kokoro
Kokoro akaruku
Nantonaku
Bunkei
Minna no doutoku
Watashitachi no doutoku
Xnensei no doutoku
0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Based on the graph one can see that Watashitachi no Doutoku is not the most used moral
education textbook at this particular elementary school. As previously stated, the new
Watashitachi no Doutoku textbooks were in distribution by March 2014. In addition to having
all of these books available to them, this was also a school where moral education had been
introduced. A noteworthy distinction, as some of the teachers I spoke with emphasized thefact that not all schools had successfully introduced the course, and not all schools have astrong tradition for teaching moral education. Given their tradition of moral education, thefact that they had stores of old Kokoro no Nooto books, and a wealth of other textbooks attheir disposal, we can reasonably assume that the school is not vehemently opposed to theconcept of teaching moral education. Their departure from the Ministry of Education’s
curriculum, or perhaps selective adaption of its curriculum, is therefore most likely to be adeliberate choice. I can only speculate as to the reason, but the fact remains that Watashitachino Doutoku only appeared in 15% of moral education classes.

56

The polarization of the moral education debate might be one of the reasons why Watashitachino Doutoku is not being used. Media framing has succeeded, to a certain degree, in labellingthe coming reform as Abe’s moral education, and the textbook is being treated as an extensionof the Abe cabinet’s will.

7.5 Practical line versus theoretical line
One of the theories I had about moral education, and how it is being thought, is the possibilityof a disparity between the Ministry of Education’s curriculum and projected desires, and theactual state in Japanese schools. There were two reasons for this theory, the first being thehistorical opposition between the Ministry of Education and the Japanese teachers unions, andthe second being the legal limitations of an area study class such as moral education.
Teachers’ unions and the Ministry of Education have historically been at odds with one
another both politically and ideologically. The Ministry of Education has traditionally
represented conservative values of the administration, whereas the teachers’ unions have been
the sole remaining leftist bastion in Japanese society. These two factions have held conflicting
views and ideas on the topic of moral education, and as I outlined earlier, the re-introductionof the moral education into Japanese schools was considered a loss to the teachers, but theirability to prevent its full implementation was considered a victory. If moral education was apart of the official curriculum and not an area study class, then the Ministry of Education’s
authority on the matter would be absolute. Area study classes, or ‘unofficial classes,’ only
have a recommended curriculum and no official textbook. Kokoro no Nooto and Watashitachino Doutoku, despite being manufactured and distributed using tax money, are only considered‘teaching materials’ by law and the Ministry of Education lacks the legal authority to enforce
its use, hence the perceived disparity between the Ministry’s wishes and the real state inJapanese schools.
Teachers currently hold a considerable amount of sway when it comes to content of the moral
education class. As I mentioned earlier this makes it notoriously difficult to measure the effectof moral education because the method and process varies from school to school.
First, the teacher determines what kind of teaching materials the class will use, and many
schools hold a considerable collection of different moral education books, not just the ones
distributed by the Ministry of Education. This variation has been capitalized on by several
57

publishing companies, and there exists a wide variety of different moral education teachingmaterials, many of which can scarcely be considered more than a lightly edited version of thebooks distributed by the Ministry of Education. These books often employ the same stories
and teach the same lessons using different words. There exists a body of popular stories that
forms a canon for the moral education class. Some of these stories are not necessarily
represented as a part of the moral education class, despite holding very clear moral lessons,but taught as a part of social studies or language.143 Therefore, what could be considered adeviation from the Ministry’s wishes is only a superficial variation of the same curriculum.
The teachers do, however, control the children’s access to the teaching material, which brings
us to the second point.
The teacher is in charge of activities, and this is where I observed the largest disparity
between the Ministry’s curriculum and common practice in school. Both Kokoro no Nootoand Watashitachi no Doutoku have considerable amounts of their books dedicated tohomework and activities that need to be carried out in the neighborhood or local community.
The most common practice is to strictly control when the children engage with the textbooks
and they are almost never allowed to bring them home. In-class activities, however, are often
carried out following the books’ instructions. This exercise of control suggests perhaps thelargest conflict between teachers and the Ministry of Education. Voiced by the Ministry of
Education, the greatest failure of Kokoro no Nooto was the fact that it did not enter common
use. The Ministry was well aware of its limited ability to exercise force on the matter of moral
education, but the widespread misuse of the textbooks did not seem to be fully revealed untilvery recently when one of the Ministry’s members visited a local elementary school anddiscovered that all of the moral education books were stored in the classroom.144 I observed
identical practice at a local elementary school in Tokyo, where every single classroom wasequipped with at least two versions of these books. The teachers were also careful to collectthe books at the end of each class, or even mid-class if they switched to a new activity.
Any possible conflict between a teacher’s plan and the Ministry of Education’s curriculum
takes place during the planning phase of the lesson, as such the classes I observed all had theimage of being wholly complete. The disparity lies therefore in their ability to choose anotherAman Kimiko, Chiichan’s Shadowsending (Tokyo: Akane Publishing, 1982)
Ministry of Education, transcript of 2014’s 18th meeting(http://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_kaigiroku.nsf/html/kaigiroku/009618620140516018.htm).
143
144

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textbook. The moral education curriculum is presented to the class as a ‘united front,’ without
the possibility of the children perceiving any disagreement between the teacher and content.
Therefore, it was important to be aware of the teacher’s conscious choice not to use thetextbooks, which often occurred. Either before or after the story from the book, the teacher
would contextualize it with personal stories or moral lessons of their own. In one example, thefirst grade teacher asked the children if they had ever told a lie, to which very few children
raised their hands. He then imparted a story about how he had lied about being sick when he
was a few minutes late to football practice, which prompted the trainer to make him observe
for the remaining two hours of the session. He then emphasized that lying could often resultin very unpredicted and unfortunate results, and that the children should take care not to lie
about important things. Very different from the Ministry of Education’s course of study where‘honesty’ is a part of the 1st pillar of the ideal person.
Another example is from the 5th graders’ lesson on the use of the Internet. After a brief
brainstorming session of the dangers and benefits of using the Internet, the teacher shared astory from his own youth. The teacher, being 25 years old, experienced the Internet’s
introduction into public use, and was able to identify with the children to some degree. He
told them about how none of the other children in his class were interested in a particular
video game that he enjoyed, and that he sought out an online forum where he found likeminded children around his age. To this day, he still consulted online forums when trying todetermine whether he should purchase a particular video game or wanted to discuss them withsomeone outside his own circle of friends.
The teachers’ ability to go against the Ministry of Education’s curriculum allows them notjust to oppose conflicting values, but also improvise and diversify classes. These two lessons
in particular are also examples of how the teachers can make lessons more personal andcurrent. This does not preclude a conflict or alignment with the Ministry of Education’svalues, but underlines the fact that teachers alter moral education classes for a variety ofreasons, both practical and political.
Third, moral education is often the first class to suffer under the event of a school epidemic orschool festivities. If a large amount of children fall ill and are absent from vital math lessons
then this may come at the cost of the moral education class, which will then be de-prioritizedto accommodate the other classes. Similarly, the moral education class may often be called
upon to give up hours in favor of preparing for school festivals such as the Sports Day or a59

student art exhibit. Moral education currently holds the least amount of lesson hours inJapanese middle and elementary schools but seems hard pressed to manage to meet even that
requirement. Per my observations, the average class managed to reach 20 or so lessons by theend of the semester, a bit over half of its allotted hours.
Much of the school’s inability to correctly meet the class’ lesson hours, however, is anunavoidable aspect of elementary school life. When the pressure to meet a tight schedule isfaced with an unpredictable reality, the class with the least official demands is often the firstto sacrifice its lesson hours. Without an official plan to follow, the teachers are largely incontrol of structuring the moral education’s run and whether they feel a class has met a
particular item on the Ministry of Education’s list of curricular guidelines is entirely up to that
individual teacher, leaving a lot of room for individual assessment of the class’ needs.
Further, since moral education is taught by the homeroom teacher and not a dedicated teacher
like many of the other classes, the teacher might be less reluctant to offer up the moral
education’s lesson hours. This is even further affected by the fact that the children are nottested or graded in the classes, making it even easier to skirt in lesson hours as they are nevercalled upon to explicitly display the knowledge they acquired from their moral education
lessons.

60

8 Moral Education outside theClassroom
8.1 Moral education and its connection to
extracurricular activities
During Nakasone’s educational reform, there was an increased focus on time dedicated tomoral education both during and outside of classes. Moral education’s tradition of being apart of the school day, as opposed to a single class, goes all the way back to the Meiji
period.145 The schoolchildren are expected to pick up garbage if they come across it and every
day they have an allotted amount of time dedicated to cleaning their classrooms. On theirown, moral education classes are not overly effective, they rely on reinforcement from otherschool activities, such as constant co-operation between classes and students. This is perhaps
why, when the time of souji (cleaning) arrives, students from each class are divided into
various groups and each group are in charge of a classroom. The part vital to moral education
is not the cleaning exercise itself, but rather the chance to co-operate with upper and lower
classmates. This constant cooperation across classes was also one of the things that struck me
as uniquely Japanese during my observations.
In his essay on social and moral education in Japanese schools, David McCullough definessocial and moral education as two separate entities. His definition places the out-of-classroom
activities as social education and in-classroom education as moral education. It is a position,
however, that conflicts with the scope and aim of MEXT's moral education and its content.
Moral education class sets the rules for correct behavior and the daily activities then become
the arena in which these rules are obeyed, tested and even broken. School clubs, for example
are often times considered separate from official school activities. Senior students, known as
senpai, are expected to both discipline and educate the younger students, known as kouhai.
McCullough notes the key venues here are co-operation, courtesy, diligence, self-

145

Wei-Ming, Confucian Traditions in East Asian Modernity, Chapter 6 on Confucianism and the Japanese state61

improvement, friendship and other elements that the children have been taught in the moral
education class.146
The overriding goal of whole person education and development makes it almost impossible(and I would argue meaningless) to separate all of these activities. I would argue that it isdifficult to achieve much more than a limited comprehension when observing these things as
separate entities. The club becomes the practical arena where the children acquire experiencein dealing with the ideas that were formally discussed in moral education class, making these
activities intertwined with one another.147
The mantra of whole person education also rings throughout the corridors of most schools, as
the Japanese elementary schools have adopted a goal-centric brand of education. In eachclassroom there are two posters, goal of the week (konshuu no meate) and goal of the month(kongetsu no meate). These goals are similarly found on the ‘character profile’ cards that thechildren fill out every season. ‘The goal of this semester’ (kongakki no meate), ‘study goal’(benkyou no meate), ‘other goal’ (hokano meate). The class goals are identical regardless ofthe year they are posted in and generally focus on something relating to health or atmosphere.
Popular examples are hayanehayaoki, which translates into early sleep, early wake, theimportance of greeting each other in the hallway, helping out with a certain activity at home,
not running in the hallways, and so on. The goals of the profile cards were, as one might
expect, students wishing to improve one area of their studies and make more friends.
It was not rare for these goals to be centered towards upcoming school festivals. Part of thereason why moral education classes often had to give way for things like preparation of
banners, practice of school hymns and so on, was not because moral education was downprioritized, but rather because it was considered a vital part of the moral education
curriculum. These are largely chances for students to work together outside of the classroom
and considered immensely important to development of a good kokoro. School activities havealways been a big part of moral education and while the two are handled separately in theDavid McCullough. “Moral and Social Education in Japanese Schools: Conflicting Conceptions of
Citizenship,” (Citizenship Teaching and Learning Vol 4, no1 2008).
147
McCullough, Moral and Social Education in Japanese Schools, 24-27
146

62

MEXT study guide and educational guidelines, they are usually linked in some way or
another.148
This can partially be attributed to moral education’s role as an ‘unofficial class.’ Aspreviously mentioned this means that the children are not tested or graded in the curriculum,
and that the teachers are not required by law to use a specific textbook. As such, the moral
education falls into the ‘area studies’ category, all of which are directly or tangentially linked
to activities outside the moral education class and even outside of the classroom. This makes
it difficult to define the limits of moral education and in turn harder to differentiate betweensocial and moral education.

8.2 Different brands of moral education
I observed that every classroom had a sort of two-fold system for commenting on otherstudents’ answers and communicating to each other without actually engaging inconversation. They signaled agreement by raising a closed fist and saying ‘agree’ (sansei), a
fist with two fingers for partial agreement or an open hand for disagreement (hantai). At the
top of the blackboard, there were drawn images of each, with an explanation written on thefist or inside the hand. A close fist meaning that ‘you were in total agreement with theanswer,’ two fingers meaning that ‘you somewhat agreed with the answer or agreed withsome parts and disagreed with others,’ and finally an open hand meaning that ‘you disagreewith the answer or their opinion but still respect it.’ This is the first system, which was often
practiced in the upper classes, but very rarely in the lower grades. As explained to me by ateacher, the students often used this when they were having a classroom debate. This
coincided with my own observations, where it was only used during debates or in response toanswers that were highly subjective.
The second system, as I observed, was one that was purely complimentary. There were a setof compliments that the children used to support each other, and while it often seemed very
natural and organic, they employed the exact same words every time. At the start of the newsemester, one moral education class was dedicated to determining aikotoba, words which areloosely described as ‘motto’ or ‘watchwords.’ They are essentially complimentary words

148

Hood, Japanese Education Reform, 79, and Wei-Ming, Confucian Traditions in East Asian Modernity, 135136

63

friends use amongst each other, but words that are often determined on beforehand. The
teacher listed three different scenarios: 1) When someone gives a good answer in class, 2)
When someone does something you like and 3) when someone accidentally messes up in gym
class. Then the children suggested various words that they wanted to use and then they held
an anonymous vote to determine the three most suitable words. Finally, the class was split
into three groups, where they made posters for the different words/scenarios, which they
eventually hung on the back wall.149
These two systems of greetings, created using ‘correct moral guidelines’ are examples how aclass held only once a week somehow manages to permeate the entire school day. The words
they determine go on to be used outside of the school as well. Before and after the school day
I happened to share the same route to school and I often overheard them using the same words
when playing. While it could be argued that this is an example of the children affecting themoral education class and not the other way around, Irie Youko argues that this is the aim of
the moral education. Both the curriculum, the content and the textbooks themselves are
created in a very particular and purposeful way, in which the children open themselves up to
influence by imparting a piece of themselves onto the class.150
Additionally, the schools often choose to focus on one particular aspect of moral education ata time and make a joint effort to emphasize it. Exemplified when the school wanted tocelebrate human rights week, the moral education classes were taught in pairs. 1st and 2nd, 3rd
and 4th, and finally 5th and 6th grade held shared brainstorming sessions. When the school
wanted to put focus on the importance of greetings, they created a new system where eachclass would elect a bi-weekly ‘greeting captain.’ This person was in charge of making surethat everybody greeted each other, and were to greet very actively themselves. They were
given a sort of cloth wristband with a ninja symbol on it and each class made a drawing of theimagined ‘greeting captain.’
A part of MEXT's aim for Kokoro no Nooto was to promote moral education outside of theclassroom. There are sections that were listed as ‘co-operation’ (renkei) with the home (katei)and ‘region'’ (chiiki) and these sections remained largely unused as students were rarely

The children decided on ‘don’t mind’ to use for mistakes, ‘nice’ when someone offered a good answer inclass, and ‘agree’ when someone offered a good explanation for something. My translation of ‘donmai, naisu,
and sansei’
150
As covered by Miyake’s criticism.
149

64

allowed to bring moral education textbooks home.151 In May 2014, a few months after
Watashitachi no Doutoku’s first nation-wide distribution, the MEXT head of elementary
school education released a paper titled ‘About the MEXT distribution of Watashitachi no
Doutoku.’ Here he implores teachers to distribute the books to the children and let them bringthem home.152

8.3 Moral education outside of the school
The following day, at a MEXT meeting, one of the members brought up a similar concern.
Following a visit to the school he had found stacks of Watashitachi no Doutoku textbooks left
behind at school, and uploaded the picture to his Facebook. He then soon learned that few ofthe parents had ever seen these books and made the subsequent discovery that the books were
not being brought home. He elaborated that, while MEXT was aware that the schools’
decision of what to do with the textbooks, being supplementary learning materials and not
official curriculum, was up to each individual school to determine, but at the same time hewas still surprised. He then went on to emphasize the importance of the children bringing
home these textbooks and working together with their parents. He also points out that large
sections of the textbooks have activities that are designed to be carried out in the home, as
well as sections dedicated to explaining the book’s purpose to parents.153
Looking at the textbook, there are several sections containing family activities. For example,
the section in the 3rd and 4th grade edition titled ‘Working together with everybody in thefamily’ has an activity called ‘Family Interview.’154 The pupil's family is asked to write down
memories from ‘When you were born,’ ‘When you started school,’ but also parts like ‘When
you were sick’ or ‘When you were scolded.’ At the end, the pupils can write a message thatthey want to convey to their family.155 Additionally there are activities where the parents
evaluate the children’s efforts at various chores. Chores such as tidying up ones room,
washing dishes or going to bed early.

151

Tokitsu, An Analysis of Watashitachi No Doutoku in Elementary School, 34-35
Tokitsu, An Analysis of Watashitachi No Doutoku in Elementary School, 34
153
Ministry of Education, transcript of 2014’s 18th meeting(http://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_kaigiroku.nsf/html/kaigiroku/009618620140516018.htm).
154
Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 3rd and 4th grade edition, 136
155
Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition, 14-15
152

65

The section is named ‘Properly doing the things you have to do’156 and each activity has anaccompanying column. Inside the column, there is a small picture of the proposed activity,
five empty circles and a message box. The circles are for the children to fill out once they
have completed the activity, one for every day of the school week, and the box is for theparents to provide feedback and commentary on said activity.157
The very first and very last pages of the textbook also help stress the textbook’s role outsideof the classroom. The first page has a section titled ‘How to use this book’ which explains its
application in the home and region, and how it can be used ‘whenever and wherever.’ The last
page has a section titled ‘To this child’s guardians.’ This section explains the purpose of thebook and encourages the parents to sit down and talk it over with their child.158
The justification for these activities can be found in in MEXT’s teaching supplement‘Instructional Materials for the use of Watashitachi no Doutoku.’ Here, Japanese elementary
school teachers are provided with a detailed analysis of the textbook’s content, and the intent
behind its various activities. In the second section of the first part of the instructional, it
details the textbook’s applicability in classes other than moral education, classes such associal studies, integrated studies, foreign languages, life environment studies, and ‘special
school activities.’ Citing examples from the textbook, they show an emphasis on things suchas ‘correctly using public property,’ ‘the cultural properties inherited from the people in theirregion’ and ‘international communication.’159
The third section argues for the book’s applicability outside of the school, mainly at home andin the various social arenas in their surrounding neighborhood/region. MEXT implores theteachers to have the children bring the textbooks home. The book has a set of activities
dedicated to either personal use, use with one's parents or with the neighborhood. The
textbook has two pages dedicated to keeping track of one’s possession and their wellbeing, as
well as several pages dedicated to keeping track of school work and other duties.160 Following
these, there are activities and pages aiming to make the children respect the elderly, andlearning and following the rules of one’s region.161 The final example is of activities
156

My Translation
Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition, 12-15, and 3rd and 4th grade
edition, 23-25.
158
Tokitsu, An Analysis of Watashitachi No Doutoku in Elementary School, 32
159
Ministry of Education ‘Analysis of Watashitachi no Doutoku’s purpose and method of application’, 2014: 10
160
Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition, 15, 24-27
161
Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition, 84-84, 128-129
157

66

dedicated to making the children be useful in the home, such as helping out with houseworkor looking after one’s siblings.162
Currently, moral education is a class that has its curriculum divided into three parts. The firstpart which is taught during the allotted moral education lesson hours, the second part which isunofficially conducted as a part of other school activities and festivals, and the third partwhich should ideally occur in the home and local community, but is being actively obstructedby teacher influence.

162

Ministry of Education, Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition, 159

67

9 Conclusion
In my introduction, I set out to discover the current debate surrounding Moral Education, as
well as the possible similarities and differences between Moral Education’s criticism andactual pedagogical practice. In order to understand the status of moral education and thecurrent debate, this thesis looked at Ministry of Education’s curricular guidelines, the Abeadministration’s proposed changes for the course and the popular and academic discourse andcriticism surrounding the topic. I also chose to include a brief historical look to better
understand how moral education has gone from being a tool for imperial doctrine tosomewhat awkwardly become a controversial mainstay in many Japanese schools. Despite theinitial protests when moral education was reintroduced in the late 50s, it has been accepted as
something of a left and right concession, and ceased to be purely an issue for ideologicaldebate. The initial was centered on whether or not there should be a moral education course.
Now, however, the debate mainly focuses on specific aspects of the curricular content, or
whether nor it should be elevated to an academic study and have its own textbook and grades.
This is perhaps a necessary compromise in order for the moral education debate to progress asmuch of it has lingered on inaccurate statements and vague ideological debate. Claims fromthe Japanese teachers’ unions that they oppose education that ‘enforces a set of values onto
students’ needs to be grounded in observable reality and not simply in the interpretation of
curricular guidelines. Such criticism will hold more weight once teachers are legally obligatedto carry out moral education in accordance with the Ministry of Education’s wishes.
The Abe cabinet is being credited, or blamed depending on the perspective, with theintroduction of ‘nationalistic’ elements in moral education. Nakasone’s emphasis on ‘Healthy
Nationalism’ was as much an introduction of love for one’s country, as it was a response to
the already existing notion of patriotism. The Japanese people, however, have traditionallybeen more positive towards moral education in the past and the culmination of the LDP’s
push for moral education as an anti-bullying measure might simply be a failing public
opinion. Kokoro no Nooto, heavily criticized and labeled as a ‘failure’ by many, is an exampleof the Ministry’s failure to secure the required legal authority to see through their educational
policies. The recent decision to make moral education an academic course is a new attempt atsecuring control over Japanese teachers. With the Japan Teachers Union weaker than ever, weare led to believe that this might be the final reform necessary to fully implement moral

68education back into Japanese schools. The failing popularity, now only at 57% according to
the Ministry of Education’s poll, might be indicative of an uncertain future.
As we have seen, I employed a two-fold method to discovering what kind of elements wereemphasized in the contemporary moral education curriculum and classes. I analyzed thecurricular guidelines, and the Ministry approved Watashitachi no Doutoku, and then engaged
in a five months long period of observation at an elementary school in Tokyo. This led us toan understanding of the disparity between the practical line and the theoretical line. Moral
education is a much greater part of some Japanese schools than the Ministry’s curricular
guidelines would have one assume. Per my observations, we have discovered that despite
only being taught once a week, the lessons are a part of the school festival, of miscellaneous
systems such as the ‘greetings captain’ and the ‘agreement system.’ This, the moral
education’s ‘undefinable’ influence on the school, is closer to an extension of the Ministry’s
wishes rather than a conflict, which I might consider true. There is, however, also a conflict
when it comes to the practical carrying out of the course. The teachers are able to freely pickand choose between the many different moral education books, pick and omit items from thecurricular guidelines and even elect to use no book at all. I observed deviations from the‘Ministry script’ even when the teachers were using the Ministry’s teaching materials.
Therefore, it is likely that even with the legal obligation to use the Ministry’s textbook,
Japanese teachers would retain the ability to greatly influence the class.
The Ministry of Education emphasizes the four pillars of the ideal human, also known as theningenzou. It emphasizes the strengthening of personal qualities such as self-control, healthyliving and self-improvement, interpersonal qualities such as making nice with ones friends,
and helping and respecting other people. It emphasizes the importance of respecting andrevering nature, and all living things, and perhaps most importantly it emphasizes ones
‘Japaneseness,’ the importance of following rules and laws, and love for one’s culture andnation.
In closing, moral education’s status is that of an unofficial area study, a class whose reachpermeates school events, extra-curricular activities and other classes. Ironically, its status asan unofficial area study is what permits such unchecked influence, and said influence might
be reduced should the course become part of the official curriculum. Such a change, however,would allow even greater influence from policy-makers and allow them to enforce a much
more standardized and particular brand of moral education. This might prevent the course69

from spilling over into other curriculum, but would enforce the Ministry of Education’s
desires for the curriculum and most importantly force children to carry out moral education
exercises in the home and neighborhood. Such a change would ultimately result in a more
standardized, manageable and easily observable course, but with no guaranteed of anincreased effect on children or on solving the problem of bullying, school dropouts and othersocial ills. As Shimizu and Akiba discovered when studying bullying, Japanese children tend
to target the outsiders who resist conformity. Choosing to steer moral education in the
direction of greater conformity rather than great tolerance for diversity might have an opposite
effect on the bullying issue and further worsen the situation. Further research should then beable to analyze whether the full implementation of official and mandatory moral education
would have an effect on bullying.
The one thing that is certain about Japanese moral education is that it is headed for a more
observable future, which may or may not be its undoing.

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Appendices
Appendix 1; Ministry of Education’s ‘Sweeping Reform of Moral Education’:79Appendix 2: Ministry of Education’s Analysis of Watashitachi no Doutoku’s Usage page1:

80

Appendix 2: Ministry of Education’s Analysis of Watashitachi no Doutoku’s Usage page2:

81

Appendix 3: Curricular Guidelines for Lower Elementary School Moral Education page1:

82

Appendix 3: Curricular Guidelines for Lower Elementary School Moral Education page2:

83

Appendix 3: Curricular Guidelines for Lower Elementary School Moral Education page3:

84

Appendix 3: Curricular Guidelines for Lower Elementary School Moral Education page4:85

Appendix 3: Curricular Guidelines for Lower Elementary School Moral Education page5:86Appendix 3: Curricular Guidelines for Lower Elementary School Moral Education page6:

87Appendix 4: Watashitachi no Doutoku 1st and 2nd grade edition index:

88Appendix 5: Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition assignments page 1+2:

89

Appendix 5: Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition assignments page 3:

Appendix 6: Watashitachi no Doutoku 1st and 2nd grade editions, rhythm for living:90

Appendix 7: Watashitachi no Doutoku 1st and 2nd grade edition, story of Ponta andKanta Page 1+2:

91

Appendix 8: Watashitachi no Doutoku, 1st and 2nd grade edition, things you are notallowed to do:

Appendix 9: Watashitachi no Doutoku 1st and 2nd grade edition, I honestly felt better:

92

Appendix 10: Watashitachi no Doutoku 1st and 2nd grade edition, being useful at home
page 1+2:

93

Appendix 11: Watashitachi no Doutoku 3rd and 4th grade edition index:

94Appendix 12: Watashitachi no Doutoku 3rd and 4th grade edition, Bradley’s invoice page
1+2:

95

Appendix 13: Watashitachi no Doutoku, 3rd and 4th grade edition, Family Interview:

Appendix 14: Watashitachi no Doutoku 5th and 6th grade edition, Edoshigusa:

96