History education in Japan on aggression misleading, distorting: retired Japanese teacher

A retired Japanese teacher said that Japan's history education in various schools is misleading and distorting, which has been hijacked by some political forces for beautifying Japan's history of aggression and covering up historical truth.

In recent years, Japanese textbooks have gradually downplayed or even glorified Japan's history of aggression and distorted the historical truth, which has been opposed and resisted by many people in Japanese society.

In August this year, Japan will once again conduct a new round of textbook review, and many Japanese people with a sense of justice are using various social activities to make Japanese society face up to the historical crimes it once committed.

Ooka Fumiyo was born in 1950. She was a primary school teacher who taught social studies. She still remembers auditing a primary school history class, which gave her a feeling that there were serious problems in Japan's history education that urgently needed to be changed.

"On whether the war is right or wrong, the teacher drew a line and let the students discuss. As a result, the vast majority of students believed that the war was wrong. However, the teacher said that Japan was in great economic difficulty at the time. If it had not gone to Northeast China and plundered China, Japan would not have survived and would have been colonized. Through such teaching explanations and discussions, students' opinions gradually changed from 'war is wrong' to 'war is right,'" Fumiyo said.

Fumiyo said that the Japanese government has been constantly putting pressure on the Japanese education industry, and many words and expressions in history textbooks have been tampered with.

"In Japanese textbooks, there are only three or four lines about the Nanjing Massacre. But even if there is only a little bit of it, the teachers can expand on it. But now the textbooks no longer use the term 'Nanjing Massacre' but call it the 'Nanjing Incident' instead," she said.

"Although there is a textbook certification system in name, in reality the certification standards and methods are constantly changed by the Cabinet, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology also intervenes and imposes restrictions on it," Fumiyo said.

Fumiyo, already 74, has been participating in public speeches and other social activities, calling on the Japanese people to pay attention to the textbook issue. She said she would continue the activities against right-wing textbooks.

History education in Japan on aggression misleading, distorting: retired Japanese teacher

History education in Japan on aggression misleading, distorting: retired Japanese teacher

With the introduction of new real estate policies in China's four major cities, industry insiders believe that the measures taken by multiple departments will help boost market confidence and contribute to the recovery of the property market, with first-tier cities leading the trend.

In late September, major Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen introduced a new wave of real estate policy adjustments aimed at revitalizing the property market.

Starting October 1, Beijing introduced new property policies focused on easing purchase restrictions and increasing credit support. The minimum down payment for first-time home buyers has dropped from 20 percent to 15 percent, and from 30 percent to 20 percent for second homes - easing financial pressure and facilitating both first-time buyers and those looking to upgrade their homes.

Beijing’s real estate market has shown promising signs under these policy incentives. In the three days following the new policy release, the number of viewings for new homes in the Chinese capital increased by 92.5 percent compared to the same period last year, with purchase agreements doubling. Viewings for resale homes also rose by 104.1 percent year on year.

"Since the new policies came out, we've seen a rise in customer inquiries, whether they're looking to buy or sell a home. The number of customer viewings has also increased. Around 90 percent of them are looking to upgrade their homes. Some clients previously lacked confidence, but the new policy has made many feel that now is a good time to make a move," said Wu Bei, regional manager of Maitian Real Estate Agency.

In addition to Beijing, other first-tier cities such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou have introduced similar measures, including lower down payment requirements and eased district-specific purchase restrictions.

"As the new policies take effect, we expect a rise in visits to real estate agencies and property viewings after the National Day holiday. We also anticipate that property prices will soon stabilize across the country, driven by Beijing and other top-tier cities," said Zhao Qingxiang, secretary general of the Beijing Real Estate Agency Association.

According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, cities conducting promotional activities reported over a 50-percent year-on-year increase in visits to real estate projects during the week-long National Day holiday. Some properties in Guangzhou saw over 150 visits per day, up 200 percent from normal levels.

Adjusted policies motivate China's home sales: experts