The letters were delivered in June and July to the heads and members of municipal boards of education in Saga and Iwate Prefectures.

Most of the letters sent to Saga bore the names of principals, teachers and students of schools in Kwangju and some bore the names of school principals in Seoul, the sources said.

Those sent to Iwate were in the names of principals and students of junior high and high schools in Kyonggi Province near Seoul.

Many of the letters were written in Japanese and urged prudence in selecting textbooks. Some were written in Korean.

"Some Japanese history textbooks distort history and threaten the friendship of our two countries," one letter said, according to the sources. Another said, "We are saddened by circumstances such as the Fusosha textbooks passing government screening."

Fusosha Publishing Inc. is the publisher of history and civics textbooks authored by the revisionist Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform.

The Japan Times Weekly: Aug. 6, 2005
(C) All rights reserved