S. Korea slams distorted Japanese textbooks over disputed islets

South Korea angrily responded Monday to new Japanese textbooks distorting history and laying territorial claim to the Dokdo islands, called Takeshima in Japan.

"Today, the Japanese government strengthened its absurd claim to Dokdo, which is irrefutably our inherent part of territory historically, geographically and according to international law," South Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said it was another "provocation" by Japan, which distorted, diminished and omitted historical facts in its textbook for junior high school students.

The fact that Japan is seeking to cram skewed view of history and territory into the heads of younger generations reflects its intention to repeat the past wrongdoings and its unwillingness to play a responsible role and restore trust from neighboring countries, the statement said.

South Korea's unification ministry also issued a statement in protest against the Japanese textbooks, saying that it was furious about the revised textbooks as it betrays Japan's intention of aggression into Dokdo.

The statement came after Japan's Education Ministry approved 18 textbooks on history, civics and geography that will be used as teaching materials from next year for middle schools.

Among the total, 13 textbooks stated that South Korea "has illegally occupied" the Dokdo islands, up from four in 2011. The number of textbooks claiming that Dokdo is "an inherent part of Japanese territory" jumped from nine to 15 in the same period.

The distorted textbooks came after Japan's education ministry revised its textbook-screening standards in January 2014, sparking controversy over the would-be content of the textbooks.

Since April 2014, all of social study textbooks for 5th- and 6th-grade students in Japan's primary schools have included the content that Dokdo is being illegally occupied by South Korea.

Dokdo is comprised of two main islets and a group of smaller rocks, lying 87 km east of the South Korean island of Ulleungdo. The islets have been administered by South Korea since it stationed border guards there in 1954.

Japan claimed its sovereignty over the rocky outcroppings, but South Korea said the islets were the first victim of Japan's imperialistic occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. Endi