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The Tokyo war shrine at the center of sour relations between Japan and some of its Asian neighbors has issued a pamphlet in Chinese and Korean in an effort to "improve understanding," shrine representatives said Wednesday.

Tokyo's ties with Seoul and Beijing worsened partly due to visits by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which critics see as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.
 
Convicted World War II war criminals are honored along with other war dead at the Shinto shrine, which Koizumi began visiting when he came to power five years ago.

Koizumi says he goes to the shrine to pray for peace and honor those who died, not to glorify war.

The leaflet, also translated into English, says: "There were also more than 1,000 people who were labeled war criminals and executed after having been tried by the Allies ...

"We refer to these divinities as the 'Showa Martyrs'."

The Korean and Chinese versions of the text refer to the trials as "one-sided" or "unfair."

A shrine official said the leaflet was based on one it issues in Japanese. "There is a noticeable increase in the number of worshippers and visitors from China, including Taiwan, and from South Korea," the shrine said in a statement. "We created this pamphlet ... to help them understand Yasukuni Shrine better."

The document refers to World War II as the "Greater East Asian War," a term reminiscent of Japanese wartime propaganda, which could upset many in Asia.

It says Japan was forced to fight other nations in World War II and other wars. "These wars were indeed horrific, but they had to be fought to ensure Japan's independence and its prosperity as a peaceful member of the Asian community," it says.

"The hundreds of thousands of people who gave their lives for these great goals are enshrined at Yasukuni shrine as divinities."

(China Daily June 8, 2006)