Random Things About How Pearl Harbor Is Taught In Japanese Schools (14 items)

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  (#1) The 'Why?' Is Glossed Over

  University student Mayako Shibata told McClatchyDC in 2014 that she doesn't recall any classes that mentioned why the Japanese actually attacked Pearl Harbor. She did recall being told, however, that some members of the government opposed the decision.

  The article goes on to say that, when Pearl Harbor was mentioned in the classroom, it was to situate the attack, which "involved more than 300 aircraft, two bombing waves and six aircraft carriers," in a context that served to downplay the event in relation to WWII more broadly.

   
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  (#10) 'Very Objectively, With Zero Emotion'

  Redditor /u/AsiaExpert, after translating a modern Japanese textbook:

  It translates simply as "on 1941, December 8th [this was the time it was in Japan during the attack], the Japanese task force attacked the American Pacific Fleet in port at Hawaii with the intent to deal a devastating blow. This was an attempt to acquire control of the seas. Simultaneous to the attack, Japanese forces launched attacks against British forces in Asia and moved with the intention of seizing Singapore." It was written very objectively, with zero emotion.
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  (#6) Consequences Are In The Spotlight

  Redditor /u/tophmcmasterson gives some perspective from behind the desk:

  I'm an English teacher at a public JHS and elementary schools in Japan, and the emphasis is definitely more on the bombs and the consequences of war and why it should be avoided.
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  (#4) It's 'Less Than A Paragraph'

  From Japanese Redditor /u/Centricflow:

  The attack on Pearl Harbor was taught less than a paragraph (from the textbook in 2002). Just stating the event, when, where, and why briefly. And then they had the black and white picture of U.S.S. Arizona surrounded in black smoke, tilted sideways, and sinking in the ocean.
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  (#12) For Japan, The Conflict Had Already Been Ongoing

  According to Redditor /u/ywja, the attack on Pearl Harbor, when seen in a more global context, was really the beginning of the end of a war Japan had been fighting since 1937. Instead of the attack being seen as a catastrophic turning point that drew the US into WWII, it's merely seen by the Japanese as one more battle on a list. As Redditor /u/NotAlwaysSarcastic corroborated: 

  You make a good point on why Pearl Harbor is so significant for Americans. For the Japanese and actually to all the other participants of WWII, it was only one battle, although it's more significant than many others.
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  (#13) 'Surprise' Attack Is Not The Descriptive Term

  Japanese Redditor /u/CentricFlow remembered feeling surprised by the "surprise attack" descriptor in her US history books, and the detail with which American textbooks emphasized WWII along with many of its specific battles:

  When I moved to the US and started studying US history in high school, it felt that there were more information about what Japan did during WWII... The biggest difference with the Pearl Harbor information in the US textbook, in my opinion, was the wording, "Surprise attack." It felt like the word "Surprise" was emphasized strongly, when in the Japanese text books did not.

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