Newly appointed education chief Atsuko Toyama, continuing the policy of her predecessor, said her ministry will not seek additional revisions to a controversial history textbook even if South Korea officially lodges requests to this end.
South Korea and China have sharply criticized the textbook, which was compiled by a group of nationalist authors, saying it glosses over Japan's wartime atrocities.
The book, which was edited by a Tokyo publishing house for use at junior high schools, was approved by the ministry last month after the publisher agreed to revise 137 sections of its draft in line with recommendations by a ministry panel of experts.