In China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) an academic history book on the Japanese invasion of a number of Asian countries during WWII has become a best seller.  

 

More than 110,000 copies have been sold in China, 70,000 in Japan and 50,000 in the ROK.

 

Rong Weimu, a Chinese editor on the non-governmental editorial board, said Tuesday in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that sales in both Japan and the ROK were impressive considering the book was a historical publication.

 

"Many local education authorities in Japan and the ROK have listed the book as supplementary reading to textbooks," said Rong, who is also a senior researcher at the Institute of Contemporary History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

 

The book, titled The Contemporary and Modern History of Three East Asian Countries, details the atrocities committed by Japanese invaders in China and Korea. The publication aims to counter the holocaust-denying textbooks published by ultra-nationalistic press in Japan.

 

"In editing the history book," Rong said, "scholars from the three countries shared the same basic historical views although they had some minor differences relating to their cultural backgrounds and research methodologies."

 

The editorial board has now published a revised edition of the book which corrects 200 minor errors.

 

Work on the book stared in 2002 after a history symposium in Nanjing where one of the world's worst war atrocities occurred. In 1937 Japanese soldiers began a bloody rampage in which they made sport of raping and murdering. They killed 300,000 Nanjing residents.

 

Rong said an English version of the book is under consideration. 

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2006)