S Korea, Japan textbook row grows bitter

South Korean civic group members burn a Japanese flag during an anti-Japan rally

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea has threatened to boycott educational exchanges with Japan in retaliation for its refusal to amend history textbooks that critics say whitewash Tokyo's wartime atrocities.

Japan has said it would not bow to mounting pressure from South Korea to make major changes.

"We will reconsider exchanges of teachers and students between Korea and Japan from the beginning," Korea's education ministry said in a statement.

South Korea said on Thursday it would scale back cultural and military contacts with Japan after Tokyo reaffirmed it had no intention of making any changes to the books.

Its culture ministry also said it would freeze plans to open the country's markets to additional Japanese cultural products, such as movies, music discs and videos.

The defense ministry also cancelled a visit to Japan this month by the head of Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff as well as an invitation to Japanese naval vessels to visit Korea in September.

2002 World Cup finals

Japan deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Chikahito Harada said: "We are not considering making any more revisions".

He said Japan would not press ahead with changes to any history textbooks unless the texts contained "clear errors."

Tokyo saw no "miracle" solution to the bitter and emotional dispute with Seoul.

South Korea, China and other Asian nations have criticized the textbook, to be used in Japanese classrooms next year, for attempting to justify Japan's invasion of much of Asia in the first half of the 20th century.

The row comes against the backdrop of efforts in recent years by both countries to improve their long-strained relations, and as they prepare to co-host soccer's 2002 World Cup finals.

Protests against the textbooks erupted on Thursday in different parts of South Korea, with some angry demonstrators burning effigies of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Japanese emperor Akihito.

Regrettable retaliation

Leaders of civic groups said they would organize more anti-Japan campaigns to press the country to acknowledge crimes its troops committed before and during World War Two.

"We are concerned about the flaring nationalist sentiment in Japan," said Choi Chul-ho, a spokesman for the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers Union.

"Japan needs to know its shameful history correctly to avoid the same tragedy it inflicted on other Asian countries."

Japan has said Korea's retaliatory measures were regrettable, but it had no plans to change its position on the textbook issue.

South Korea, China and other Asian nations have criticized the book, set to be used in classrooms next year, for attempting to justify Japan's invasion of much of Asia in the first half of the 20th century.

Seoul has also bristled at the omission of the plight of more than 100,000 women, most of them Korean, forced to provide sex to Japanese troops during World War Two.

Reuters contributed to this report.