OSAKA -- The publisher of a book reproducing a series of "rakkasan" (parachute) news leaflets that were dropped on battlefields in Japan and Southeast Asia by the U.S. military toward the end of World War II is excited over the high demand for his book.

Five-hundred copies of the book, published last month by Shimpu Shobo Co., sold out quickly, with another 1,500 due for release this month, said Takuma Fukuyama, the 66-year-old president of the publishing firm based in Osaka's Tennoji Ward.

"A number of letters from readers also show high interest," he said.