Japanese PM not to visit Yasukuni Shrine during New Year period
2/1/2005 9:40
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Saturday he will not visit
the notorious war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo during this year's New Year
period.
Asked whether he will refrain from visiting the shrine during the New
Year season, he told reporters, "Yes."
After Sino-Japanese summit talks last
November, Koizumi avoided to give clear "yes" or "no" while being asked about
the issue, but expressing that he would make decision properly.
Yasukuni
Shrine honors 14 Class-A World War II criminals along with Japanese war dead
since the mid-19th century.
Koizumi has paid four visits to the shrine since
he took office in 2001, with the latest one on New Year's Day in 2004.
Xinhua News
|
