Koizumi set to visit war shrine: LDP official
Koizumi set to visit war shrine: LDP official
TOKYO (Reuters): Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will visit a shrine for Japan's war dead that also contains souls of convicted war criminals, but may avoid the anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, a senior ruling party official said on Sunday.
The popular Koizumi has been under heavy pressure from China and South Korea, both victims of Japan's wartime aggression, to call off his planned visit to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine.
"I believe the visit to Yasukuni will certainly be made and I think it should be done," Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Secretary General Taku Yamasaki told a Fuji Television talkshow.
Koizumi's plans to visit the Shinto shrine, dedicated to Japan's 2.5 million war dead since the 19th century, on the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II on Aug. 15 have met angry criticism from neighboring Asian countries.
China and the two Koreas have strongly protested.
The shrine also contains the spirits of wartime military leaders convicted as war criminals for their roles in Japan's invasion of Asia in the 1930s and 1940s.
Koizumi has said he would decide on whether to make the visit after giving it "mature consideration".
Yamasaki said the prime minister should try not to antagonize Japan's Asian neighbors.
"I believe (Koizumi) should make maximum efforts not to undermine relations with neighboring countries," Yamasaki said on Fuji Television.
He did not rule out the possibility that Koizumi might visit the shrine on a day other than Aug. 15, which, besides being the anniversary of Japan's surrender, is also South Korea's Liberation Day, celebrated to mark the end of Japan's 35-year occupation of the Korean peninsula.
"As for how it can be done, we will give consideration to other countries. I believe (Koizumi) will pay a visit in such a manner that it would not violate the Constitution," Yamasaki said, referring to the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state.
If the prime minister does choose to visit the Shinto shrine on Aug. 15, Yamasaki said Koizumi could issue a statement along the lines of one issued by then prime minister Tomiichi Murayama in 1995.
"So far (the government) has indicated its view on history by way of a comment by Mr Murayama. I think there could also be a Koizumi comment," Yamasaki said.
Naoto Kan, secretary general of the main opposition Democratic Party, criticized Koizumi's stance.
"He is unqualified to be a person in charge of foreign policy if he believes it is sufficient to think what to do after... various (problems) occur," said Kan, who appeared in the same talkshow.
On Aug. 15, 1995, Murayama officially apologized for Japan's past acts of aggression and colonialism against its Asian neighbors, 50 years after Japan surrendered in World War II.
In the landmark statement Murayama said "Japan, following a mistaken national policy, ... caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations."
Murayama called the Japanese aggression an "irrefutable facts of history," while offering remorse and "my heartfelt apology."
Former prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto made what he called a private visit on his birthday in July 1996 but still infuriated China and other neighbors.