Japan's suicide stories back in text books

JAPAN is set to reinstate schoolbook references to the army forcing civilians to commit suicide on the southern island of Okinawa in 1945, reversing a decision made under a former conservative prime minister.

A government textbook panel gave the go-ahead for textbook companies to restore the references after strong protests from Okinawan citizens against a government decision in March to modify passages on the military's involvement in the suicides.

"We determine that the revisions are reasonable and it would be appropriate to approve them," the panel of history professors said in its report.

The 1945 Battle of Okinawa, known as the "Typhoon of Steel," left about 200,000 dead. Many Okinawan civilians committed suicide rather than surrender to the Americans - by some eyewitness accounts on the orders of Japanese soldiers.

Conservative historians dispute these accounts, saying the suicides were voluntary.

In March, under the conservative prime minister Shinzo Abe, the Education Ministry ordered references to military involvement in the deaths be cut from high school textbooks from 2008.

Abe, known for his eagerness to escape what right-wing historians refer to as Japan's "masochistic" view of wartime history, had become leader after pledging to build a "Beautiful Country" including teaching patriotism in schools.

But the decision sparked a furious 110,000-strong rally in Okinawa and prompted more than 100 people to fly to Tokyo to protest directly to the government.

Current Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, a moderate, said he understood the feelings of the Okinawan people on the textbook issue.

Education Minister Kisaburo Tokai said he would stand by the panel's decision and allow the textbook publishers to restore the references, including a line that the military had played a part in distributing hand grenades for the suicides.

Agencies