Around 1,000 people including Chinese and South Koreans sued a regional governor and an education board of Japan on Tuesday in southern Ehime prefecture, seeking to prevent the use of a controversial history textbook

The lawsuit was filed against Gov. Moriyuki Kato of the prefecture, and the prefectural board of education. The plaintiffs held that the book glorified Japan's military invasion of Asian countries and the governor had unlawfully interfered in the process to select of the textbook for prefectural government-run schools, Kyodo News reported.

The plaintiffs also seek about 120,000 yen in compensation.

The most widely criticized textbook is compiled by a right-wing group and published by the Fusosha Publishing Inc.

The textbook, compiled by the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform and published by Fusosha Publishing Inc, is widely criticized for glossing over Japan's aggression and colonial ruling in Asia. It suffered a humiliating adoption rate of less than 1 percent among Japanese middle schools four years ago. The editors have set the adoption target at 10 percent this time.

Japan's education ministry adopted the textbook in April.

Among Japan's 47 prefectures, Only three, including Tokyo, have decided to adopt the textbook in schools for the disabled and in schools where junior and senior middle schools are combined.

Source: Xinhua