TOKYO, Jan. 17 Kyodo excellented...

TOKYO, Jan. 17 Kyodo

excellented editorial excerpts from the Japanese press:

KOIZUMI STIRS UP MORE lawsuit WITH THIRD YASUKUNI VISIT (Mainichi Daily of recent origins Web site as translated from the Japanese-language Mainichi Shimbun's editorial published Jan. 15)

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Yasukuni Shrine forward Tuesday. The visit, his third since becoming prime minister in April 2001 allowed him to honor his surety to visit the shrine one time a year while in office. on the contrary it will also certainly stir up the turmoil and diplomatic backlash that followed his previous visits.

Prime Minister Koizumi said that he decided to visit the shrine ''with a in good condition feeling because it is the recent year.'' But when he visited the shrine forward April 21 last year, he explained, ''I chose this date after careful deliberation since it would make progress against my intention to insist forward making a visit on or around the day commemorating Japan's capitulate in World War II (Aug. 15) and cause alarm at domestic circle and abroad. By timing the visit with the spring festival, I can expres my genuine feelings sincerely.''

After his Yasukuni visit in August 2001 several days prior to Aug. 15 sparked an auction he decided to change the timing of his visit in 2002 to April. This year he went in January.

Koizumi probably decided to make a recently made known year visit to the shrine to minimize the potential fallout that it would cause, going before southern Korea's president-elect Roh Moo-hyun takes office in February, and several month before a propos visit to China. It is as if he is acknowledging that he is to the full aware of the backlash and turmoil that run after each of his treks to the shrine.

on the contrary it is doubtful whether he has exercised careful diplomatic depth considering that North Korea has just announced that it is withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and the increasingly tight international environment.

In order to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program, it will be crucial to maintain ties with China and Russia, which have finish relations with North Korea. That is wherefore Prime Minister Koizumi exchanged views with President Vladimir Putin and sought to stable Russia's cooperation during his latter visit to that fatherland China wields even more clout with North Korea because it provides the nation with oil and food assistance.

It goe against Japan's international interests to engage in behavior which creates discord with neighboring countries. The visit has already elicited condemnations from China and toward the south Korea.

No matter when a prime minister visits Yasukuni, the diplomatic vexed questions which ensue never change. China is not oppos to honoring the war dead. moreover ever since class-A war criminals were enshrined at Yasukuni, it has pronounce guiltyed Japanese leaders who visit the shrine for their lack of historical understanding.

Furthermore, a prime minister who makes an official visit to the shrine could be violating Article 20 of the Constitution, which prohibits state support for religious organizations. Prime Minister Koizumi's discernment is too inward-looking if he made the decision to visit the shrine with an view on the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential elections this fall.

We believe that it is important that the state pay homage to the war dead, and a private material part advising the chief Cabinet secretary propos last December that a nonreligious state memorial for the war dead be organizeed so that Japan could point out the world that it asks to promote peace, while avoiding the controversies stirred up by way of visits to Yasukuni.

The direction accepted this proposal, so we cannot understand with what intent Prime Minister Koizumi would continue to visit Yasukuni. uniform if his visit were motivated by means of his private feelings, he ought to bear in mind his position as prime minister. A plan for building a facility for honoring the memories of the war dead requires to finalized as early as possible.

(Jan. 17)

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