The South Korean government on Monday lodged a strong complaint with Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, who publicly derided the way history is taughtin South Korea and China.

Machimura on Sunday described the teaching methods as limited, saying "There is only one kind of history textbook in South Korea and China. There is no more foolish (system)."

The remarks came as Seoul and Beijing have been urging Tokyo totake concrete actions to correct its new-edition school textbooks that whitewash Japan's wartime aggression.

"It is regrettable that the person who is in charge of Japan's diplomatic policy used such an inappropriate expression to whine about other countries' school-textbook system," said Lee Kyu-hyoung, spokesman of the South Korean Foreign Ministry.

The remarks are based on a lack of understanding of the root problem, he added.

Japan should avoid triggering further diplomatic strife by correctly understanding why its neighbors express their concern regarding its history textbooks, he added.

Source: Xinhua