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War-bereaved families ask Koizumi cautious on shrine visits
Families of the war dead on Saturday asked Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to show more consideration for other Asian countries over his visits to Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrines Class-A war criminals along with the Japanese war dead. Nippon Izokukai, or the Japan War-Bereaved Association, headed by former ruling Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Makoto Koga, issued a statement on their view of Koizumi's visits to the shrine which have prompted criticism from neighboring countries and have become a keen diplomatic issue. To have prime ministers paying homage at the shrine ''has been an ardent wish of the association and we appreciate it very much but, at the same time it is most important that the spirits of the war dead rest in peace. It is necessary to give consideration to neighboring countries and obtain their understanding,'' the group said in the document issued at a meeting of its senior members in Tokyo. The association's main policy is to have regular Yasukuni visits by Japanese prime ministers, but the statement urged Koizumi, in an unusual move, to consider the criticisms of neighboring countries such as China and South Korea. The association is a strong support group for Koizumi's governing LDP. The statement also said politics should not be brought into the argument about whether Class-A war criminals should be separately enshrined from the war dead. It also said that the association considers Yasukuni Shrine as the only memorial facility for the spirits of the war dead and it opposes establishment of any new facilities for the war dead in the future. In view of tense diplomatic relations, some legislators in the LDP have proposed removing ''traces'' of the Class-A war criminals from Yasukuni. But the Association of Shinto Shrines recently said such separate enshrinement is unlikely, given basic Shinto principles. The meeting of the senior members of the association was held to work out a common view on Koizumi's visits to the shrine. Speaking at a general meeting of his faction in the LDP on June 2, Koga, also a House of Representatives member, said, ''The most important thing is that the spirits of the war dead rest in peace.'' ''So remarks by people in certain positions require sensitivity to neighboring countries and diplomacy also requires compassion,'' he added. Koizumi has visited Yasukuni once every year since taking office in April 2001, but recently has only indicated a plan to continue to do so after facing strong protests from China last November. Koizumi last paid a visit on New Year's Day last year. Other Asian countries that suffered from Japanese aggression during World War II see the shrine as symbolic of Japan's past militarism as it honors 14 Class-A war criminals, including wartime Prime Minister Gen. Hideki Tojo. China in protest has suspended a reciprocal visit to Japan by its top leaders since Koizumi visited Beijing in October 2001. |
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