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Wednesday, 6 June, 2001, 11:37 GMT 12:37 UK
Controversial Japan textbook a best-seller
![]() The book claims the Rape of Nanjing was "not a holocaust"
A controversial Japanese school textbook accused of glossing over wartime atrocities has been selling fast since it hit Tokyo bookstores a few days ago.
At one Tokyo branch alone, some 1,300 copies of the book have been sold. It was written for children aged 13 to 15. The textbook - which has caused an international row with Japan's neighbours and strained diplomatic ties - was released in Tokyo on Friday and nationwide on Monday. But the Education Ministry has voiced concern about the strong sales, fearing this could unduly influence many local education boards who have not yet decided which textbooks to use in their schools.
The publishers of the New History Textbook said they decided on its release to allow the public to make their own judgements. "We decided it would be best to release the book and let readers decide. We feel we've been criticized unfairly," said Toshiaki Shirasawa of Fuso-sha. Protests Both China and South Korea have made a number of official protests to Japan over the issue in the last two months.
They have called for revisions to be made to the text, but this has been ruled out by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. A foreign ministry official has said three North Korean officials wanting to join a weekend rally in Tokyo to protest against the book have applied for entry visas. Four South Korean politicians have also applied to a Tokyo court for an injunction banning the sale and production of the textbooks.
The book was written by a group of nationalistic historians who claim that existing texts go too far to accommodate the views of Japan's former adversaries. They argued that wartime rule from Tokyo benefited south-east Asian countries by preparing them for independence. |
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