Representatives of a group of Taiwan aboriginals will go to court in Japan next Monday to defend a lawsuit they filed against the Japanese government. It protests Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni Shrine.??

At a press conference in Taipei on Tuesday, a representative of the plaintiffs showed some historical photos.

 

They show the crimes committed by Japanese soldiers against Taiwan aboriginals in the years from 1895 to 1945. This was the period in which Japanese imperialists occupied the Chinese island.

 

The plaintiffs are demanding the names of Taiwan aboriginals be removed from the Yasukuni Shrine. The Taiwan natives were press-ganged into joining the Japanese military during World War II.

 

Koizumi has made repeated visits to the shrine, which honors 14 Class-A WWII war criminals along with the over 2 million Japanese soldiers who died in wars since 1869.

 

Next week, the plaintiffs will go to the Osaka District Court to pursue their lawsuit.

 

They say the Japanese leader's visits are a great insult to the people of Taiwan and have caused them psychological suffering.

 

(CCTV.com June 10, 2005)