China opposes Japanese leaders' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which contains memorial tablets to World War II top war criminals, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said in Beijing Sunday. 

Kong made the remarks when asked to comment on Japanese Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)'s decision to add "continuous visit to the Yasukuni Shrine" to its political platform on January 16.

The only correct attitude towards historical matters is to "take history as a mirror and orient towards the future," Kong said.

China hopes the Japanese side will honor its commitments on reviewing its history of invasion so as to win trust of its neighbors and the international community by concrete deeds, Kong said.

(Chinese Foreign Ministry January 19, 2004)