Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday he does
not think his annual visits to the war-related Yasukuni Shrine is
the core of the dispute between Japan and South Korea as well as
China.??
Speaking at a House of Representatives audit committee session,
Koizumi said: "I do not think my visits to Yasukuni Shrine is the
core (issue) in the Japan-South Korea relation nor the Japan-China
relation."
"Developing friendly relations while maintaining a
future-oriented manner and facing straight up to history are the
core issues of our relationship," the prime minister said.
He reiterated his opinion on the controversial visits to the
shrine, saying "in any country, it is completely natural for a
person to express his heartfelt sorrow for those who lost their
lives for their country."
But many Asian countries have strongly protested against
Japanese leaders' visits to the notorious Shinto shrine in Tokyo,
which honors 14 convicted World War II Class-A war criminals,
responsible for Japan's aggression war against its Asian
neighbors.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun was quoted by Kyodo News as
telling Koizumi during their meeting in Seoul on Monday that the
Yasukuni issue remains "the core" of the dispute between the two
countries.
Roh's remarks are believed to be an implicit call for the
Japanese prime minister to end his Yasukuni visits, Kyodo said.
During their summit talks, Koizumi and Roh failed to bridge
their differences over the Japanese leader's shrine visits but
confirmed Japan's plan to consider setting up a new national war
memorial as urged by South Korea.
Koizumi has paid visits once a year to the Yasukuni Shrine since
he took office in 2001. Last month, he indicated a plan to visit
the shrine again sometime this year.
(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2005)