Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has told the Diet that he plans to promote joint history studies by Japan and its two Asian neighbors, China and South Korea, under existing research exchange programs.
"It is important to promote mutual understanding . . . with China, South Korea and other neighboring nations," the prime minister told a House of Councilors plenary session on Friday. "In this context, I would like to promote various activities" under the programs.
Koizumi made the remarks in response to a question by a ruling bloc lawmaker over South Korea's demands for revisions to several history textbooks that critics say gloss over Japan's wartime aggression.