More than 800 Japanese citizens on Wednesday held a rally in
Tokyo and presented a protest letter with signatures of more than
11,000 people, voicing their objection to a controversial history
textbook.??
Participants, most from Tokyo's Suginami District, gathered in
rain at the district administration building, calling for a boycott
of the textbook widely criticized at home and abroad for glorifying
Japan's colonial rule and war-time ravage in Asia.
They strongly protested the adoption of the textbook that
glosses over Japan's invasive war, urging the district authorities
to eliminate the textbook from classroom.
Shieko Ogasawara, the rally organizer, said that the purpose of
studying history is to eschew past mistake, warning the problematic
textbook would send Japan's younger generation back to
battlefield.
"The inappropriate description of history in the book deprives
our children not only of their thinking ability, but also their
future to peacefully get along with neighboring countries," she
said.
The textbook compiled by a group of right-wing editors cleared
Japan's Education Department in April. The educational committee of
the Suginami District eyes approving the textbook for use in middle
schools.
(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2005)