Japan’s education ministry has recently approved a new version of the national education guidelines, which include jukendo, or “bayonet fighting”. This is the first time in the physical education curriculum it has been included for middle school students.

The move has sparked widespread public condemnation both inside and outside the country. Critics say it is inappropriate to teach students jukendo in schools, as it is in essence “a killing art”.

Yoichi Shimatsu, former editor with Japan Times Group, told CGTN’s ‘The Point with Liu Xin' (@thepointwithlx) that traditional martial arts in Japan were in the past strictly limited to the samurai class which was educated in Confucian social ethics. 

The use of weapons was restricted to inter-domain conflicts and maintaining civil order against bandits. Jukendo is not a genuine martial art but a modern adaptation of weapons handling. 

“Jukendo came up when Japan developed its modern army in the Meiji era and unfortunately it became the weapon of choice when Japan invaded the Korean Peninsula, took part in the eight countries’ interventions in Beijing against the Chinese government and so on,” he said.

“Jukendo was completely ineffective against modern weapons. The only military use of jukendo was psychological warfare and patriotic indoctrination to inculcate every Japanese with the will to die rather than surrender to the enemy” he added.

“The government of Shinzo Abe and his right-wing circle, especially the education ministry, do not have many former teachers. Politicians, right-wing ideologists and bureaucrats want to promote nationalism so they get younger people to volunteer to join the new Japanese military - which has been revived - not only the Self-Defense Forces, but as a military to go out and commit these atrocities again,” he said.

"The Point with Liu Xin" is transmitted every weekday at 2130, 0530 and 1030 Beijing time (1330, 2130 and 0230 GMT).