Japan revises teaching manuals, says islands its territory

Japan's Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in this photo taken by Kyodo January 28, 2014. REUTERS/Kyodo

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan said on Tuesday it was revising teaching manuals to make clear that two sets of remote islands at the centre of disputes with China and South Korea are integral parts of its territory, prompting protests from an angry Seoul and Beijing.

Japan's ties with the two countries are increasingly strained over a host of issues, including the territorial rows and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit late last year to the Yasukuni Shrine, where convicted war criminals are honoured along with millions of war dead.