Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Aso in Tokyo backtracked on his
earlier remark urging the country's emperor to visit the war-linked
Yasukuni Shrine on Tuesday, saying he was not suggesting the
emperor should visit the site in this day and age.
"I made the remark from the standpoint of the spirits of the war
dead enshrined (at Yasukuni) because they died for the emperor. I
never said that (I wanted) the emperor to make the shrine visit in
the current situation," Aso said at a news conference.
The minister said earlier it would be "best" if the emperor
visited the Yasukuni Shrine, where 14 top war criminals were
honored, rather than any other of Japan's leaders.
"From the viewpoint of the spirits of the war dead, they hailed
'Banzai' (long live) for the emperor -- none of them said long live
the prime minister. A visit by the emperor would be the best," Aso
said on Saturday in a speech.
His remarks immediately drew criticism from home and neighboring
countries.
Aso "ignored the constitutional principle of separation of
politics and religion, as well as the severe consequences caused by
the Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni
Shrine," Mizuho Fukushima, the opposition Social Democratic Party
leader said on Sunday.
On Monday, South Korea's foreign ministry expressed "deep
regret" over Aso's remarks. "We urge the Japanese foreign minister
to immediately withdraw the remark that shuns neighboring nations,"
the ministry said in a statement,
The statement also said "these remarks are based on a misguided
recognition of history that whitewashes Japan's militarist
past".
The Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to the
Shinto shrine have upset deeply many Asian people who suffered at
the hands of the aggressive Japanese army before and during
WWII.
"The 14 top war criminals are major symbols of Japanese
militarism as well as Japanese fascism," said Wu Jianmin, president
of China Foreign Affairs University, in a recent symposium on
China-Japan relations.
The Japanese leaders' visit to the Shrine is a serious political
issue, which shows that they have not acquired a correct attitude
towards Japan's war history.
Late Emperor Hirohito stopped visiting the Yasukuni Shrine after
it enshrined top war criminals in 1978, and the present emperor,
Akihito, has never visited the site.
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(Xinhua News Agency Febuary 1, 2006)
