Japan’s Education Ministry Rules School’s Okinawa Base Curriculum Violates Political Neutrality Laws
On the 22nd, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Matsumoto announced in a press conference that the educational content provided by Doshisha International High School in Kyoto regarding the relocation of the U.S. military base to Henoko, Okinawa, violated the Fundamental Law of Education, which mandates political neutrality. This marks an extremely rare case where the Ministry of Education (MEXT) has officially designated specific educational content as a violation of the law. According to the Ministry's announcement, the school's study trip was judged to be "highly inappropriate" in terms of both safety management and educational content. Consequently, the Ministry issued a guidance notice to the Doshisha educational corporation demanding improvements in governance. The backdrop of this decision involves a tragedy during the study trip where a 17-year-old student lost their life in a boat capsizing accident. Investigations concluded that th...