In fact, the authors attacked the Japan's education board and its teachers, labelling them Marxists.
Japan's interpretation of its past, in particular its wartime atrocities, is still a sore point with neighbours China and South Korea.
This is the first time since 2001 that Japan's Education Ministry is screening junior high school textbooks from various publishers.
The textbooks cover 9 subjects including maths, science, the arts and physical education.
The controversial history and social studies textbooks include a pictorial spread of the disputed Takeshima islands, known as Dokdo to the Koreans.
All passages refering to "comfort women" have also been removed.
The openly nationalistic authors who come from the "Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform" say their version is justified.
It is the second time their textbook has passed the screening.
Nobukatsu Fujioka, Vice President of Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform, said: "Regarding Japanese army and police forcing sex slaves to come from the Korean Peninsula...it's a story with no evidence to support it. Through discussions, this has been clarified."
The authors had included how the Korean Peninsula was annexed by Japan but this was deleted by the Education Ministry.
And as for the Nanking Massacre in China, the original textbook said the facts are still in question but the ministry changed this to "the number of victims is in question".
Hidetsugu Yagi, President, Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform, said: "Japan's education board is strongly influenced by Marxism. That reason is, the teacher's unions are based on Marxism."
The first version of their controversial textbooks back in 2001 was adopted by less than one percent of Japanese schools.
Schools are still deciding whether to use the revised versions next year.
But the authors are determined to get their message out and they have gone as far as to translate parts of it into Chinese.
They are even planning to unveil a Korean version soon. - CNA /ch
Courtesy of http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/ ... 89/1/.html
i think they must have thought ww2 was an urban tale too ... :look:
