日本教育改革右倾化国际化难兼顾

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.

东京——日本对民族主义和世界主义的同时采纳，是该国教育政策制定者发出的模棱两可的信号。在重新编写教科书时，他们遵循了所谓的“爱国”理念，从而在这一过程中疏远了他们的亚洲邻国。但与此同时，为了参与国际竞争，他们又在力促日本大学成为全球化的开放大学。

“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.

波士顿大学(Boston University)教授、研究日本政治的专家托马斯·伯杰(Thomas Berger)说，“日本在教育政策上的右倾和它在国际化方面所做的努力存在明显矛盾。”

“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.”

“日本的教科书政策正在加剧它与亚洲其他国家的紧张，打击了日本人去邻国学习以及外国人来日本的积极性，”伯杰说。“教育政策处在一种进退两难的境地：一方面存在支持国际化的强大的经济和政治压力——不过，日本其实一直是在朝相反的方向前进。”

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 A more critical version of history, which casts Japan as an aggressor in World War II, has been replaced by material that is more “patriotic.”

在极其少见地当了一次在野党后，去年，日本保守派重新当权，安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)成为首相，并且推动了以较少的歉意来重修战争历史的议程。把日本塑造为二战侵略者的比较具有批判性的历史版本，已经被更“爱国”的内容所取代。

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.”

批评人士称，新政府正试图把一种右派议程强加给日本的学校系统。他们举出的例子包括，经国家批准的新教材淡化了中国南京大屠杀中的死亡人数，而南京大屠杀本身现在则被称为“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.

这些改动也遭到了一些抵抗，但总体来看，日本各地的教育委员会都在接纳它们。日本第二大城市横滨就是第一批采用新课本的城市之一。

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.

与此同时，同一拨保守派正在采取强有力的行动，意图使日本着眼国内的教育系统实现全球化。安倍晋三表示，他希望日本能有10家教育机构进入世界大学前100强。目前，只有两家能登上《泰晤士高等教育》杂志(Times Higher Education)排名等著名榜单：东京大学(The University of Tokyo)和京都大学(Kyoto University)。

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

政府的计划包括：通过聘请外国教授来加强大学的师资力量、建立一个认证评价体系，以及拓展资源。

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.

政府还计划与被这批新教科书惹恼的国家——美国、中国和韩国——改善双边关系。

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.

日本的亚洲邻国担心，它新近对爱国主义的强调将催生民族主义，并在进行历史教学时在战时暴行上混淆视听。他们还指责安倍晋三是在试图复兴过去的军国主义。中国外交部今年曾发表声明称，东京“企图否认甚至美化”日本的军国主义侵略历史。

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.

中国和日本——两国还存在领土争端——均表示，歪曲历史的教科书和教育是双方深刻敌意的源头之一，对两国之间50多年的和平局面造成了威胁。

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.

华盛顿独立研究中心“亚洲政策源”(Asia Policy Point)的负责人明迪·科特勒(Mindy Kotler)说，就连美国等日本的盟友都对这批新教科书深感不安。

“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.”

“之所以会失望，是因为我们意识到，日本领导人持有一种倒退的、不可信的且令人厌恶的态度，不仅是在对待历史的问题上，而且在对待民族、女性、战争、和平与和解方面也如此，”她说。“简而言之，问题是日本决策者是否能够做出明智的判断。”

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

不过，日本政府声称，它已经做了足够多的努力，来照顾邻国对其战时侵略行为的敏感情绪。

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.

日本文部科学大臣下村博文(Hakubun Shimomura)否认政府想强制推行特定的历史观。他说，日本教科书的审核过程是公平公正的，“建立在专家和学者的深思熟虑之上”。但他也承认，希望日本能采取一种更加爱国的角度来看待本国。

“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.”

“历史都有积极和消极面，”下村博文在电子邮件中写道。“我们认为，教学内容应该平衡好和坏的方面，这样孩子们才会为我国的历史感到骄傲，而且拥有信心。”