学習指導解説書 「尖閣」「竹島」の明記を起点に

The Yomiuri Shimbun January 29, 2014
Manuals should help educate students about Senkakus, Takeshima
学習指導解説書　「尖閣」「竹島」の明記を起点に（1月29日付・読売社説）

It is essential for children in this country to be encouraged to acquire an accurate knowledge about Japanese territory, given that they will become a pillar of our future.
　日本の将来を担う子供たちに、領土に関する正しい知識を習得させることが大切である。

The education ministry has revised instruction manuals for its course of study for middle and high schools to state that the Senkaku Islands and Takeshima islets constitute “inherent parts of our nation’s territory.” The reference is the first of its kind to be included in the teaching manuals devised by the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry.
　文部科学省が、中学校と高校の学習指導要領の解説書に、尖閣諸島と竹島を初めて「我が国固有の領土」と明記する改定を行った。

The new manuals also reiterate our nation’s stance on the Senkaku Islands, which this country has placed, in effect, under state control. Students “need to understand there exists no territorial issue to be resolved,” the manuals say.
　日本が実効支配する尖閣諸島については、「解決すべき領有権の問題は存在しないことを理解させる必要がある」とも言及した。

Despite an increasing number of school textbooks that refer to the Senkakus and Takeshima, some textbooks still do not mention these islands.
　尖閣諸島や竹島について言及した教科書が増えてきたとはいえ、いまだに記述がない教科書も一部に残っている。

Though the ministry’s instruction manuals are not legally binding unlike its course of study, the former serves as a guide for publishing houses as they edit textbooks, as well as for teachers when they give lessons. We hope the latest revision of the manuals will ensure all textbooks include appropriate references to the Senkakus and Takeshima.
　解説書は、指導要領のように法的拘束力はないが、出版社の教科書編集や教師が授業を行う際の指針となる。今回の改定により、どの教科書にも適切な記述が盛り込まれることが期待される。

The education ministry has every reason to improve the quality of teaching programs on the nation’s territorial integrity, based on the government’s official views on relevant issues. Doing so is also significant for producing people capable of presenting our nation’s position in the international community.
　政府見解に基づいて、領土教育の充実を図るのは、文科省として当然のことだ。国際社会で日本の立場を主張できる人材を育成する上でも意味があろう。

The previous instruction manuals stated that the group of Takeshima islets should be included as part of geographic learning in middle school social studies classes. In doing so, however, the manuals avoided using such a direct phrase as “inherent [part of our] territory.” Such an evasive approach was also evident in the manuals for high school geography.
　従来の解説書では、竹島について、中学社会科の地理的分野で触れるよう求めていたが、「固有の領土」という直接的な表現は避けていた。

The latter manuals only stated that the study of Takeshima should “be based on middle school studies.”
高校の地理では「中学校における学習を踏まえる」としか記述されていなかった。

Neither the previous manuals for middle school studies nor those for high schools included any reference to the Senkakus.
　尖閣諸島に関しては、中高いずれも言及されていなかった。

Misleading notion

There is no denying that the manuals gave schoolteachers and administrators a misleading notion about territorial issues facing this country, prompting them to think that such problems should not necessarily be given importance.
　こうした解説書の内容が、領土問題を必ずしも重視しなくても構わないといった誤解を教育現場に与えた面は否定できない。

Our nation established its claim over Takeshima no later than the mid-17th century—during the early Edo period (1603-1867). In 1905, Takeshima was annexed to Shimane Prefecture, based on a decision made to that effect by the Cabinet.
　竹島は、遅くとも江戸時代初期の１７世紀半ばに日本が領有権を確立し、１９０５年に閣議決定を経て、島根県に編入した。

However, a turnaround came in 1952, when South Korea unilaterally drew the so-called Syngman Rhee Line, which contained the Takeshima islets. That country has since unlawfully occupied the islets.
ところが、韓国が５２年、竹島を取り込む形で一方的に「李承晩ライン」を設定し、不法占拠を続けている。

In January 1895, Japan incorporated the Senkaku Islands into its territory after establishing that areas under China’s control did not include them. The event preceded the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which ended the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95.
　尖閣諸島は、１８９５年１月、中国の支配が及んでいないことを確認した上で領土に編入した。これは、日清戦争を終結させた下関条約の調印前のことである。

In the 1970s and later, China laid claim to the Senkakus. The Chinese assertion came after it had been found that there were oil deposits in waters around the islands.
　中国側が領有権を主張し始めたのは、周辺海域で石油埋蔵が判明した後の１９７０年代以降だ。

Japanese students need to be properly taught that their government’s views on the Senkakus and Takeshima have legitimate grounds reflecting these historical developments, seen from the standpoint of international law.
　こうした歴史的経緯を踏まえ、日本政府の見解が国際法上、正当な根拠に基づくことを生徒にきちんと教える必要がある。

The South Korean government has issued a statement demanding the Japanese government to “immediately retract” the latest revisions to the instruction manuals. The Chinese government has also become more strongly antagonistic by the Japanese action.
　今回の改定に対し、韓国政府は「直ちに撤回することを求める」との声明を発表した。中国政府も反発を強めている。

What kind of education should a nation give its children with regard to its territory, which is part and parcel of its sovereignty? That is an internal matter of that country. No other nation should interfere over such an issue.
　国の主権にかかわる領土について、どのような教育を行うか。それは内政上の問題である。他国が口を挟むべきものではない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 29, 2014)
（2014年1月29日01時50分  読売新聞）