The government has asked a publisher to postpone selling a controversial history textbook until local education boards have selected which books they will have schools use, Education Minister Atsuko Toyama said Friday.
"Because it may affect the selections, we have asked Fuso Publishing Co. to begin selling it after the selections are done," Toyama told a news conference.
The textbook in question was compiled by a group of nationalist historians and after a number of revisions, the textbook was given the green light for use in junior high schools beginning April -- drawing criticism from South Korea and China.