Japan will screen a junior high school history textbook that has drawn criticism from three Asian neighbors under its usual screening procedure, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Friday.

"We have said from before that decisions (on textbooks) will be made after a screening process," the top government spokesman said. "We believe the screening will be carried out appropriately."

China, South and North Korea have criticized the controversial textbook compiled by a group of Japanese academics, saying it justifies Japan's wartime aggression against Asian countries.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao warned Thursday that Japan's approval "will have an adverse impact on Sino-Japanese relations."

Fukuda said the comments by the three nations were not formal requests, adding that Japan will explain its position to China if necessary.

The group responsible for compiling the textbook, led by Kanji Nishio, says that current Japanese history textbooks are biased and full of self-denigration. The proposed textbook portrays Japan's military campaigns during World War II as having had a positive impact in Southeast Asia.

War suit dismissed

MIYAZAKI (Kyodo) The Miyazaki District Court on Friday dismissed a 25 million yen damages suit against the state filed by a Taiwanese former member of the Imperial Japanese Army, who was later punished as a war criminal for his actions during World War II.

Rejecting the suit, presiding Judge Hidenori Yokoyama said the Constitution "does not directly refer to a state apology and compensation for those victimized in war." The plaintiff was Miki Hayashi, 75, a resident in Miyazaki Prefecture who became a Japanese citizen in 1972.

According to the suit, Hayashi was posted to Kalimantan on the island of Borneo in September 1942 to supervise prisoners of war captured by the Japanese army. After the war, he was accused of physically abusing the prisoners and was tried by the Allies.

The plaintiff was convicted as a class-B to -C criminal and spent 11 years in Sugamo Prison in Tokyo and other prisons.

Hayashi insisted that he should be entitled to state compensation based on the principle of justice and fairness as he was forced to make special sacrifices as a result of his service to the Japanese public.

"The state does not understand the situation at all," Hayashi said. "The Japanese Constitution is rotten. The ruling means people repeatedly used for the good of Japanese end up being dumped as waste.

"I will consult with lawyers on whether to appeal the ruling. But I doubt a higher court will make a different decision, as long as the state's stance remains unchanged," he said.