Controversial Japan textbook editor on school board

TOKYO - An editor of a history textbook which critics say whitewashes Japan's past militarism has been appointed to the local school board in a populous prefecture near Tokyo, a step which could upset other Asian countries as a sign of a nationalist trend in Japan's schools.

The Saitama prefectural assembly approved on Monday the appointment of Shiro Takahashi, former deputy chairman of the group responsible for the textbook, which ignited protests in China and South Korea when it was approved for use in junior high schools in 2001.

"He will be formally appointed to the board by the governor within the year," a Saitama prefectural official said.

Critics have attacked the history text for downplaying the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in China as well as the forced sexual slavery of women for Japanese soldiers, and for depicting World War Two as a war aimed at liberating other Asian countries.

Saitama, with a population of more than 7 million, does not use the textbook at present, the official said.

"There are six members of the school board and it is up to them to debate and decide," he said. "They might or they might not."

The appointment comes amid a series of feuds between Japan and China, where Japan's wartime aggression remains an emotive topic. Beijing is especially angry over Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's annual visits to Yasukuni shrine, where war criminals are honoured along with Japan's other war dead.

Conservative Japanese politicians have been calling for education reform to put patriotism and traditional values back in schools.

Senior ruling party politician Shinzo Abe said earlier this month that the country's education law should be revised to incorporate the value of patriotism.

Last month, Education Minister Nariaki Nakayama was quoted by Japanese media as publicly praising history texts which reduced what he termed "excessive descriptions" of Japanese wartime wrongdoing.

- REUTERS