The Northeast Asian History Foundation will hold an academic symposium to discuss the historical distortions in the new textbook published by the Japanese Society for History Textbook (JSHT). The new textbook received authorization from Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (MEXT) of Japan in April. The symposium will focus on comparing the contents of the new textbook with that of the Fusosha textbook published in 2005. With 2011 drawing near, the symposium also aims to seek proactive response measures to Japan''s historical distortions. In 2011, the 2008 Revised Guidelines for Instructors, which will lead to changes in the textbook authorization process, is set to go into effect.

The symposium will be held at the Grand Conference Hall of the Northeast Asian History Foundation building on May 12 (Tue). It will consist of three sessions in which seven Northeast Asian History Foundation researchers will be presenting and six experts will serve as discussants. The first session will center on the historical perception reflected in the new JSHT textbook along with the ins and outs of the MEXT textbook authorization process. The second session will focus on the differences between the 2005 Fusosha textbook and the 2009 Jiyusha textbook in their treatment of the following areas: ancient history, history of the middle ages & early modern history, modern history, modern diplomatic history, and Japanese colonial rule. The final session will be dedicated to discussing potential response measures to the historical distortions in Japanese textbooks based on the discussions and findings from the first two sessions.