[originaltext] South Korean ]aw-makers mounted a lash-ditch attempt to stop t

South Korean ]aw-makers mounted a lash-ditch attempt to stop the use of a controversial Japanese history text-book yesterday and announced plans for an Asiawide coalition against Tokyo’s "white washing" of history.
   The four MPs are applying to a Tokyo count for an injunction against the distribution of a series of textbooks that have sparked outrage in the region and increasingly souked Japan’s diplomatic relations. Japan’s neighgouring countries have said the textbooks brush over Japan’ s military aggression in World War Ⅱ, from which many of their people still bear scars.
   While a ruling in their favour is seen as unlikely, the four MPs plans to continue their campaign against the text-books by forming a region-wide body to oppose "historical distortion" by Japan, said Hahm Seungheui of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party:
   "We also propose to set up a neutral independent justice body - the Asia History Count--to settle historical disputes in Asian nations." said Hahm, a former public prosecutor. Hahm was speaking only hours after the final version of the eight textbooks, written by a group of nationalist scholars, was unveiled.
   The textbooks, approved by the Japanese Government in April, have sparked diplomatic disputes with many Asian countries, together with new Japanese Prime Minister Junickiro Koizumi’s plan to visit a Tokyo war shrine, the final resting place of several convicted war criminals.
   Protests in South Korea have escalated into civic campaigns nationwide, including calls for a boycott of Japanese goods, prompting Seoul to postpone joint military exercises with Tokyo.