The ruling coalition has agreed to include a clause on patriotism in a bill that will revise the Fundamental Law of Education for the first time, although Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has not decided when to send the bill to the Diet. The 1947 law, although drafted under the leadership of the Occupation forces, embodies Japan's soul-searching on the nation's prewar state-centered education. The revision, however, will change the basic character of what has been dubbed as the constitution of education, and could infringe on freedom of thought.
The agreement between the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito is the outcome of a 3-year-old move to give a legal background to the effort to use education to instill a "love of the country" in students. In March 2003, the Central Education Council issued a report calling for a revision of the law to stress the importance of "nurturing hearts that love the homeland and nation." Some LDP members have complained that the law attaches too much importance to individual rights and fails to sufficiently instill in citizens a sense of public duty, contributing to a more self-centered postwar Japanese society.
The LDP and Komeito have now agreed to insert the following phrase into the law: "Cultivate an attitude that respects tradition and culture, loves the nation and the homeland that have fostered them, respects other nations, and contributes to peace and development of international society."