Scholars and educators from Japan, China and South Korea will hold a three-day symposium in Tokyo starting Feb. 27 to discuss history textbooks and related issues.
The Forum on History Conception and East Asia Peace, to be held at the International Conference Center at Waseda University, is sponsored by an association of Japanese citizens' groups, including Peace Boat, as well as the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in China and a South Korean group working to "correct" Japanese textbooks.
On the first day, Shinichi Arai, a professor emeritus at Ibaraki University and an international relations specialist, will give a keynote speech titled "Globalization, Human Rights and Textbooks."
Participants will then discuss such themes as "textbooks and gender" and "overcoming and coming to terms with the past."
Scholars from the three countries will exchange notes on education and history textbooks used in each country, and a report will be given on a revision of history textbooks used at schools for Korean residents in Japan.