Koizumi Visits Yasukuni Again

AsiaOne reports:

TOKYO (AP) -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a pilgrimage Tuesday to a Tokyo war shrine reviled by critics as a symbol of militarism, triggering a further erosion in Japan's ties with its neighbors just a month before he leaves office.

The impact of the visit to Yasukuni Shrine, Koizumi's sixth as prime minister, was heightened by its timing on Aug. 15, a date viewed with sadness in Japan as the anniversary of its World War II surrender, but celebrated as a day of liberation from Japanese colonial rule elsewhere in Asia.

The early morning pilgrimage prompted protests in China and South Korea, which suffered heavily under Japanese occupation. The countries view the shrine, which honors war criminals among Japan's 2.5 million war dead, as a glorification of imperialism.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun called on Japan to "prove it has no intention to repeat" its past aggression as his government summoned the Japanese ambassador to issue an official protest.

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