On June 26, 1982, the Japanese textbook authorization system became a major diplomatic issue for the first time when "Asahi Shimbun" reported that the Ministry of Education demanded a textbook, which stated that the Japanese army "invaded" () Northern China, be rewritten using the phrase ""advanced" () into" instead of "invaded". Having heard this news the Chinese government strongly protested to the Japanese government. In response, on August 26, 1982, Kiichi Miyazawa, then the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, made the following statement: