The thing is, both sides are being equally repellent. The Japanese really do whitewash their WWII crimes, and the Chinese really are using this to distract their people from a corrupt one-party system.
This is one case where the US should just keep mum.
Yeah, to the third party, this is what they call "pot calling kettle black."
"But Tokyo says private companies, not the government, were responsible for the texts, and that it is up to individual school districts to decide which books they use."
"In Japan we ensure freedom of speech and publication. So if draft textbooks submitted by publishing companies to the ministry of education fulfill certain criteria, they are allowed to be published."
also see: list of Japanese Apologies below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_apology_statements_issued_by_Japan