An Opinion on Corporal Punishment and Bullying
Corporal punishment has been a big media topic this year. Why does corporal punishment never cease? In my opinion it is because Japanese schools cultivate in their students’ minds values that are lenient toward corporal punishment. Let us look at how that has been so in the modern history of Japan.
Gakumon no Susume (An Encouragement of Learning) written by Fukuzawa Yukichi in 1872 suggested people should study hard for individual promotions. The militarism that emerged following the Sino-Japanese and the Russo-Japanese wars (1894–95, and 1904–05, respectively) gradually drove Japanese schools to raise “strong imperial citizens” for the country. During the early Showa Era (1926–1989), military officers conducted military drills at school. In those days, schools served as the preparatory stage to becoming soldiers. During the process, physical punishment that was practiced in the military became a licensed practice also at school.
The years leading up to World War II saw the consummation of collectivism in Japan. Each household had to belong to a neighborhood group, to watch each other’s conduct. All Protestant churches were integrated into the United Church of Christ in Japan in 1941 for the easier control by the government. At school the values of self-sacrifice and patriotism were most upheld. If any student showed the slightest sign of defiance, they would be severely punished. Many learned, as a survival technique, such Japanese values as yielding to the powerful, being tactful, and being sensitive to the atmosphere.
Upon Japan’s defeat in 1945, the nation’s social system was overturned. But did it also overturn the values in Japan?
The new constitution of 1947 drastically democratized Japanese public education. Today, however, top values at school still appear to be collectivism and conformity. Even the idea of uniqueness seems to have a certain firm boundary. If you do not fit within that boundary, you will be bullied.
The new constitution and democratization in the postwar era failed to revolutionize the Japanese value system. Children learn the Japanese values at school for 12 years, and some go on to become schoolteachers. Thus, collectivism continues to be valued, and corporal punishment remains acceptable for those who do not conform.
Christian values are sometimes counter-cultural. You cannot always follow the majority. I believe we need more Christians who dare to be different, at the risk of exclusion and bullying, in order to start guiding the schools in Japan in the right direction.
From Christian Shimbun, May 26, 2013
By Akira Okada, teacher at a Tokyo municipal high school
Translated by Tomoko Kato and Atsuko Tateishi