Japan lawmakers' shrine visit slammed
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-04-23 14:26

TOKYO -- Seiji Mataichi, secretary general of Japan's opposition Social Democratic Party, criticized here on Friday Japanese lawmakers' group visit to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, the Jiji News Agency reported.

"They (the lawmakers) pay no attention to the issue (Yasukuni visit), which has become a severe diplomatic problem," Mataichi said, urging the lawmakers to take a correct attitude on the issue.

He also called on Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who is attending a two-day Asian-African summit in Jakarta, to convey clear information about stopping Yasukuni visits to Japan's neighboring countries.

Koizumi expressed "deep remorse" and "heartfelt apology" for Japan's wartime wrongdoing in a speech Friday in the Indonesian capital, but he did not mention any intention to stop visits to the Yasukuni Shrine.

A group of 80 Japanese lawmakers visited the Tokyo shrine, which honors 14 Class-A World War II criminals along with Japan's war dead since the mid-19th century.

Koizumi has paid four visits to the shrine since he took officein 2001.

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