A group in Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture, promoting friendly ties with Paju in South Korea has agreed to Paju's request to cancel a trip there because of the controversy brewing over a Japanese history textbook that offends Seoul, group officials said Sunday.
The private group, set up in the city southwest of Tokyo in spring last year to seek sister-city ties with Paju, had planned to send some 30 people to the city for a three-day trip from May 21, they said.
But municipal officials of Paju, northwest of Seoul, asked the group at the end of last month to postpone the visit, saying they were concerned the trip could spark protests over the textbook.
"We regretfully accepted the requested postponement because how the textbook issue will be resolved is unknown," a group official said. "We hope to realize the visit when the problem is solved."