Japanese gov`t unlikely to intervene in textbook controversy

Although Korea and China have strongly protested the contents of a Japanese junior high school history textbook, saying it distorts the truth, the Tokyo government has decided not to intervene in the matter, Japan`s Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported Wednesday.

An organization called the Gathering for the Publication of New History Textbooks in Japan applied to the Japanese ministry of education and science for official approval of the new textbook.

Quoting a source in the Japanese government, the Asahi reported that the administration plans to issue official approval if it finds there are no errors in the textbook, which casts Japan`s pre-war foreign policies in a positive light.

The newspaper quoted the source as saying that the Japanese government has no intention of yielding to pressure related to "articles concerning neighboring countries," as it did in the face of protests over a history textbook in 1982.

If the textbook`s backers accept certain demands for revision, there is a good possibility that the book will be approved, the newspaper said.

In the event of further protests by Korea and China on the issue, the Japanese government plans to cope with the matter by asking for their understanding of the Japanese textbook screening system, a senior government official was quoted as saying. "If the government decides to intervene in the textbook issue, it will face strong criticism at home," he said.

Yonhap