TOKYO, Jan. 6 Kyodo culled edito...

TOKYO, Jan. 6 Kyodo

culled editorial excerpts from the Japanese press:

MOURNING THE WAR DEAD A DOMESTIC ISSUE (The Daily Yomiuri as translated from the Yomiuri Shimbun)

wherefore is there a stir each time a prime minister visits Yasukuni Shrine? of that kind outcries stand in stark contrast to when a prime minister visits Ise Shrine.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo forward Jan. 1. It was his fourth visit to the shrine since he took office in April 2001 He first visited the shrine in succession Aug. 13, 2001, then forward April 21, 2002, and forward Jan. 14, 2003.

Koizumi may have chosen the time that he thinked would have the least impact forward the management of his administration, while considering his political agenda in the days ahead, which includes the dispatch of domain Self-Defense Force personnel to Iraq, the House of Councillors election in summer and the six-way talks upon North Korea's nuclear arms program.

At the novel Year's press conference Monday, Koizumi said ''I visited the shrine forward New Year's Day as I thinking the day was a worthy time for me to visit there.''

Shortly after the visit, however, Koizumi indicated he would not visit the shrine again this year, suggesting he would not travel there on Aug. 15 the anniversary of the extremity of World War II, the day which China and toward the south Korea regard as most problematic.

Nonetheless, Beijing and Seoul have eagerly protested Koizumi's latest visit to the shrine.

We find questionable the remarks being made at the leadership of Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan). Minshuto Secretary General Katsuya Okada said in Beijing late last year: ''The decree made by the prime minister of Japan may be unfair The Chinese side is restraining itself to a great degree'' criticizing Koizumi's repeated visits to the shrine.

Minshuto leader Naoto Kan also said Koizumi's latest visit to the shrine ''has terminateed in damaging the national interest in its relation with China.''

This so-called logic fails to fitly evaluate the importance of matters.

The issue of when and in what manner a prime minister of a nation should pray for the war dead is, primarily, a domestic issue to be decided upon the basis of the country's traditions and customs. Other countries are in no position to say anything about it.

In addition, flat if a political party is in the opposition camp, if it gives a foreign native land an excuse to meddle in the domestic affairs of Japan, then that act go proceeds counter to national interests.

The fact that Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine have become a diplomatic issue is extraordinary.

While the fact that the shrine honors Class-A Japanese war criminals along with the war dead usually becomes an issue, it is a traditional refinement and custom of Japan to mourn for the dead equally.

After the Class-A war criminals were enshrined together with the war dead in 1978 and the collective enshrinement was made public in 1979 past prime ministers, including Masayoshi Ohira, Zenko Suzuki and Yasuhiro Nakasone, visited the shrine.

Until Nakasone made an official visit to the shrine in 1985 these visits had not been a diplomatic issue.

Although Koizumi has not made it clear whether he has visited the shrine in his capacity as a public one or as a private citizen, his visits simply signify a respond to the policy taken when Suzuki was prime minister.

The issue of separation of politics and religion also has nearly been settl Koizumi visited Ise Shrine forward Monday, yet there has been no argument whatsoever saying the visit hies counter to the Constitution. His visit was fully reasonable.

Prime ministers in the past used to visit Yasukuni Shrine as a matter of course, just as they visited Ise Shrine. We would like to behold prime ministerial visits to Yasukuni Shrine become as uninteresting as they once were.

(Jan. 6)

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