An organisation in Japan’s Saitama prefecture is under fire for holding combat drills featuring toy guns for schoolchildren amid public anxiety about growing militarisation in the country.
At the “junior survival school” run by a general incorporated association, primary and secondary schoolchildren took part in training similar to Japan Self-Defence Force (JSDF) drills and were taught how to handle toy guns, The Mainichi newspaper reported on Saturday, without naming the organisation.
According to the organisation’s website, its mission is “developing skills for social independence and survival”. Among the list of expectations for its “cadets” is “properly following orders and fostering the habit of proactive obedience based on self-awareness”.
Paid classes, taught by former JSDF personnel, were held in public facilities in Tokyo’s Itabashi and Suginami wards. In social media videos posted by the group, children wearing camouflage gear can be seen saluting and aiming toy rifles in a prone position.
A local civic group flagged the activities, saying they were contradictory to the wards’ declared image as “cities of peace”.
Former teacher Jin Takeda, 78, was alarmed when he saw the videos. Takeda, who is also secretary general for the Itabashi City Peace Group, submitted a formal complaint to the ward on behalf of the civic group.
