The Japanese ambassador, Koreshige Anami, blamed Chinese "patriotic" education practices for whipping up emotions. An original version of the history book, written by nationalist scholars for junior high schools, was first approved in 2001 despite strong protests from China and South Korea. Few school boards adopted the book and it's not clear how many will do so this time either. South Korea has long been unhappy over what it sees as a Japanese failure to fully apologise for its past military aggression in Asia and its often brutal 1910-1945 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula. In 1998, Japan issued a written apology for its colonial rule over Korea, and relations between the two countries had been warming in recent years. --SP 1812 Local Time 1512 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/252623