Publisher pulls book over Japanese shrine photo

A controversial book, which was suspected of using a picture of Japan's notorious Yasukuni Shrine on its cover, will be recalled and destroyed, according to a notice released on Tuesday morning by Dalian University of Technology Press.

It said in the notice that it attached great importance to the online controversy aroused by the improper selection of the picture for a Japan travel guidebook that was published in 2014.

The shrine is objectionable in China, as it honors Japanese war criminals from the last century.

"After careful review, we found it is true that the audit was not careful, and the control was not strict while choosing the cover picture. Distribution and sales of the books have been stopped and various means have been undertaken to recover and destroy them," it said.

According to previous media reports, a netizen said on Sunday that a Japanese travel guide book published by Dalian University of Technology Press was suspected of using a picture of the Japanese shrine as its cover.

The publishing house also said that the incident had exposed serious problems in its management, and those responsible will be held accountable and similar problems will be prevented.

Established in 1985, Dalian University of Technology Press is sponsored by Dalian University of Technology, which is a national key university directly administrated by the Ministry of Education of China.