日本教育改革右傾化國際化難兼顧

TOKYO — Japan’s simultaneous embrace of nationalism and cosmopolitanism is generating ambiguous signals from its education policy makers. They are rewriting textbooks along what they call “patriotic” lines, alienating their Asian neighbors in the process. But at the same time, they are promoting Japanese universities as globalized and open, in a bid to compete internationally.

東京——日本對民族主義和世界主義的同時採納，是該國教育政策制定者發出的模棱兩可的信號。在重新編寫教科書時，他們遵循了所謂的“愛國”理念，從而在這一過程中疏遠了他們的亞洲鄰國。但與此同時，爲了參與國際競爭，他們又在力促日本大學成爲全球化的開放大學。

“There is an obvious contradiction between Japan’s rightward shift on education policy and its strivings to internationalize,” said Thomas Berger, a professor at Boston University and an expert on Japanese politics.

波士頓大學(Boston University)教授、研究日本政治的專家托馬斯·伯傑(Thomas Berger)說，“日本在教育政策上的右傾和它在國際化方面所做的努力存在明顯矛盾。”

“Japanese textbook policy is increasing tensions with Asia, undermining the willingness of Japanese to study in neighboring countries and of foreigners to come to Japan,” Prof. Berger said. “Education policy is caught on the horns of a dilemma: On the one hand, there are powerful economic and political pressures that favor internationalization — yet, in reality, Japan has been moving in the opposite direction.”

“日本的教科書政策正在加劇它與亞洲其他國家的緊張，打擊了日本人去鄰國學習以及外國人來日本的積極性，”伯傑說。“教育政策處在一種進退兩難的境地：一方面存在支持國際化的強大的經濟和政治壓力——不過，日本其實一直是在朝相反的方向前進。”

Following a rare term out of office, Japan’s conservatives returned to power last year with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at their head and an agenda to recast wartime history with a less apologetic tone. A more critical version of history, which casts Japan as an aggressor in World War II, has been replaced by material that is more “patriotic.”

在極其少見地當了一次在野黨後，去年，日本保守派重新當權，安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)成爲首相，並且推動了以較少的歉意來重修戰爭歷史的議程。把日本塑造爲二戰侵略者的比較具有批判性的歷史版本，已經被更“愛國”的內容所取代。

Critics say the new government is trying to impose a rightist agenda on the nation’s schooling system. They point out, for example, that new state-sanctioned text books play down the death toll of the Nanjing massacre in China, which is now referred to as an “incident.”

批評人士稱，新政府正試圖把一種右派議程強加給日本的學校系統。他們舉出的例子包括，經國家批准的新教材淡化了中國南京大屠殺中的死亡人數，而南京大屠殺本身現在則被稱爲“事件”。

There has been some resistance to the changes, but by and large, education boards across Japan are accepting them. One of the first boards to adopt the new textbooks was that of Yokohama, the country’s second-largest city.

這些改動也遭到了一些抵抗，但總體來看，日本各地的教育委員會都在接納它們。日本第二大城市橫濱就是第一批採用新課本的城市之一。

At the same time, a formidable drive is underway by the same conservatives to globalize Japan’s inward-looking education system. Mr. Abe has stated that he wants 10 Japanese institutions to rank among the world’s top 100 universities. Currently only two make the cut in prominent lists like that of Times Higher Education: the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University.

與此同時，同一撥保守派正在採取強有力的行動，意圖使日本着眼國內的教育系統實現全球化。安倍晉三表示，他希望日本能有10家教育機構進入世界大學前100強。目前，只有兩家能登上《泰晤士高等教育》雜誌(Times Higher Education)排名等著名榜單：東京大學(The University of Tokyo)和京都大學(Kyoto University)。

The government’s plans include strengthening teaching staffs at universities by hiring foreign professors, initiating a certified evaluation system and expanding resources.

政府的計劃包括：通過聘請外國教授來加強大學的師資力量、建立一個認證評價體系，以及拓展資源。

There is also a move to improve bilateral relations with the very countries that the new textbooks have irked — the United States, China and South Korea.

政府還計劃與被這批新教科書惹惱的國家——美國、中國和韓國——改善雙邊關係。

Japan’s Asian neighbors fear that its new emphasis on patriotism will lead to nationalism and a teaching of history that obfuscates wartime atrocities. They also accuse Mr. Abe of reviving past militarism. Tokyo is “attempting to deny and even beautify” the country’s history of military aggression, a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry said this year.

日本的亞洲鄰國擔心，它新近對愛國主義的強調將催生民族主義，並在進行歷史教學時在戰時暴行上混淆視聽。他們還指責安倍晉三是在試圖復興過去的軍國主義。中國外交部今年曾發表聲明稱，東京“企圖否認甚至美化”日本的軍國主義侵略歷史。

China and Japan — which are also facing off over territorial claims — both say that biased history textbooks and education are among the causes of a deep-grained hostility that threatens more than 50 years of peace between them.

中國和日本——兩國還存在領土爭端——均表示，歪曲歷史的教科書和教育是雙方深刻敵意的源頭之一，對兩國之間50多年的和平局面造成了威脅。

Even allies like the United States are dismayed at the new textbooks, said Mindy Kotler, director of Asia Policy Point, an independent research center in Washington.

華盛頓獨立研究中心“亞洲政策源”(Asia Policy Point)的負責人明迪·科特勒(Mindy Kotler)說，就連美國等日本的盟友都對這批新教科書深感不安。

“Disappointment stems from the realization that Japan’s leaders hold a retrograde, discredited and offensive view of not just history, but also of race, women, war, peace and reconciliation,” she said. “Simply put, the issue is whether or not Japanese decision makers are capable of sound judgment.”

“之所以會失望，是因爲我們意識到，日本領導人持有一種倒退的、不可信的且令人厭惡的態度，不僅是在對待歷史的問題上，而且在對待民族、女性、戰爭、和平與和解方面也如此，”她說。“簡而言之，問題是日本決策者是否能夠做出明智的判斷。”

But the government says Japan has done enough to satisfy its neighbors’ sensitivities over Japanese aggression during the war years.

不過，日本政府聲稱，它已經做了足夠多的努力，來照顧鄰國對其戰時侵略行爲的敏感情緒。

The education minister, Hakubun Shimomura, denies that the government wants to enforce a particular view of history. He says Japan’s textbook examination is undertaken fairly and impartially, “based on expert and academic deliberations.” But he concedes he is looking for a more patriotic take on Japan.

日本文部科學大臣下村博文(Hakubun Shimomura)否認政府想強制推行特定的歷史觀。他說，日本教科書的審覈過程是公平公正的，“建立在專家和學者的深思熟慮之上”。但他也承認，希望日本能採取一種更加愛國的角度來看待本國。

“History has positive and negative aspects,” Mr. Shimomura said in an email. “We believe it is important to teach a balance of the good as well as the bad parts so that children can be proud of and have confidence in our country’s history.”

“歷史都有積極和消極面，”下村博文在電子郵件中寫道。“我們認爲，教學內容應該平衡好和壞的方面，這樣孩子們纔會爲我國的歷史感到驕傲，而且擁有信心。”