- 28 Jul 2005
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It appears that the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, New Komeito, have finally agreed on the wording defining the notion of patriotism as expressed in the preamble to that revision to the Fundamental Law of Education. (The Daily Yomiuri Fri. April 14, pp 1, 3)
The agreement puts 'patriotism' as "A mind that respects tradition and culture, loves the nation and homeland that have fostered them, and at the same time respects other countries and contributes to international peace and development."
That sounds fair enough to me although I'd still like to see the Japanese in order to get a chance to see how much room there may be for interpretation of the various terms involved within that clause--and to try to see just what interpretations those may be.
The article also pointed out that 'the agreement is intended to counter a criticism of the current law that it places too much importance on individual rights.' Now for a person who is so strongly entrenched on a very pragmatical balance of personal rights and freedoms as regards garbage collection systems, as many may well recall that I am, this is a bit startling.
The whole process is still ongoing, and in May more discussion will take place. It appears as though the hang-up over 'homeland' .vs. 'governing system' is over, so that the idea of 'kuni' is modified by the word for 'homeland'.
One more thing mentioned in the article that kind of gave me goose bumps for a second was the mention that the LDP has been intent on the need to "cultivate religious sentiments." Which religion, huh? Luckily, the New Komeito party seems to have greatly diminished that insistence, although, according to the write-up, it is still there in some cross-party groups and among some independent lawmakers.
I'm a little concerned; just a little, though.
The agreement puts 'patriotism' as "A mind that respects tradition and culture, loves the nation and homeland that have fostered them, and at the same time respects other countries and contributes to international peace and development."
That sounds fair enough to me although I'd still like to see the Japanese in order to get a chance to see how much room there may be for interpretation of the various terms involved within that clause--and to try to see just what interpretations those may be.
The article also pointed out that 'the agreement is intended to counter a criticism of the current law that it places too much importance on individual rights.' Now for a person who is so strongly entrenched on a very pragmatical balance of personal rights and freedoms as regards garbage collection systems, as many may well recall that I am, this is a bit startling.
The whole process is still ongoing, and in May more discussion will take place. It appears as though the hang-up over 'homeland' .vs. 'governing system' is over, so that the idea of 'kuni' is modified by the word for 'homeland'.
One more thing mentioned in the article that kind of gave me goose bumps for a second was the mention that the LDP has been intent on the need to "cultivate religious sentiments." Which religion, huh? Luckily, the New Komeito party seems to have greatly diminished that insistence, although, according to the write-up, it is still there in some cross-party groups and among some independent lawmakers.
I'm a little concerned; just a little, though.