Japan Makes Ramayana Teaching Compulsory in Schools: Fact Check

Story:

Japan admits that even a bad person becomes a good person by reading Ramayana..
Japan made it compulsory to teach Ramayana in all its schools.
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Other Versions

(Hindi)
जापान ने माना रामायण पढ़ने से बूरा इंसान भी अच्छा इंसान बन जाता है।
जापान ने अपने सभी स्कूलों में रामायण पढ़ाना अनिवार्य किया.

जय श्रीराम।

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Fact Check:

The messages doing rounds on various social media platforms claim Japan Makes Ramayana Teaching Compulsory in Schools. It also mentions Japan admits that even a bad person will become good person by reading Ramayana. No, the claims are not true.

Japan Did Not Make Ramayana Compulsory in Schools

The message in question became popular in Hindi version, doing rounds through WhatsApp, Twitter as well as Facebook. However, there is no credible news suggesting Japan made Ramayana teaching compulsory in schools. There’s no such mention in Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) website mext.go.jp. There’s also no official statement from Japan saying even a bad person will become good person by reading Ramayana. However, Ramayana, one of the major Sanskrit epics of ancient India is not new to Japan and other Asian countries.

Based on the Indian epic Ramayana, director and producer Yugo Sako made the popular Indo-Japanese traditional animation feature film in 1992. The film was in fact made as a part of the 40th anniversary of India-Japan diplomatic relations. Artists from both countries collaborated for making the film. The original version with Sanskrit songs was released in English under various names including Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama and Warrior Prince. However, Hindi dubbed version of it is remembered even today as the best animated version of an epic tale.