ABSTRACT
As argued in Chapter 2, education cannot be extracted from the political maneuvering that underpins it. Historically, foreign language education has tended to mirror the nation’s foreign affairs policies (Sasaki, 2006; Chang, 2009; Kato, 2009; Tsuda, 2012), which, in turn, reflect the decision-makers’ mindsets and priorities. Typically, governments offer foreign language study in the belief that it is necessary for economic, political, educational, and cultural purposes, or is profitable for international relationships (Inagaki, 2005; Omori, 2007). Correspondingly, the primary foreign languages that are taught are most likely those that have the strongest national influence. Foreign language education derives from a number of highly political motivations in Japan as elsewhere (Jacob, 1990; Weinstein, 1990; Christ, 1997). In Japan, perhaps because of a mix of isolationism and faddism, trends in promoting or restricting foreign language learning were arguably more extreme than elsewhere, which will be discussed later. English language education was the subject of a political and pragmatic transition during World War II and the Occupation. This section discusses the brief history of foreign language education in Japan and reasons for the choices of the foreign language of study, which reflect the national policies of the times. It serves as a backdrop to the events of the war and the Occupation, and may, in part, explains some of the decisions of that period.
