Fire Breaks out Next to Japan's Textbook Society BuildingA fire broke out late Tuesday night in a parking lot of an adjacent building next to the Japanese Society for Textbook Reform which complied the controversial history textbook, no one injured, according to Tokyo Metropolitan Police officials.The fire broke out at around 11:50 p.m. and caused no damage other than the scorched window frame, police said. Police suspected the fire came from an incendiary device planted by radicals opposed to the junior high school history text, which has been approved by the government for use from the 2002/ 2003 school year. The Tokyo metropolitan education board on Tuesday adopted the textbook for use at some junior high schools for frail and mentally handicapped children run by the metropolitan government. The textbook, published by Fuso Publishing Co., has been vehemently criticized both in Japan and its Asian neighbors for its beautification of Japan's past aggressions during World War II. The Society for Textbook Reform is located on the first floor of the building, about 500 meters away from the JR Suidobashi train station. |
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