Spinning history
The week's news at a glance.
Tokyo
Japan’s Ministry of Education this week approved a history textbook that China and South Korea said glosses over Japan’s militaristic past. The book, aimed at junior high schoolers, barely mentions the 1937 Nanking massacre, when Japanese troops slaughtered Chinese soldiers who had surrendered, then killed some 300,000 civilians. It also ignores the enslavement and rape of thousands of South Korean women during World War II. The ministry approved an earlier version of the book in 2001, but there was so much protest that few school boards bought it. Critics say the revised edition is just as bad. “It confuses right and wrong,” Chinese government spokesman Qin Gang said. “It confounds black and white.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Scottish hospitality shines at these 7 hotels
The Week Recommends Sleep well at these lovely inns across Scotland
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Scientists invent a solid carbon-negative building material
Under the radar Building CO2 into the buildings
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: April 1, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published