Home>>Opinion
Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, February 12, 2004

Koizumi's utterance on Shrine visits a total absurdity

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has visited Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine every year since taking office in 2001, most recently on New Year's Day. His absurdremarks on Tuesday defending the visits have again provoked fierceindignation among the peoples of China and other Asian countries.


PRINT DISCUSSION CHINESE SEND TO FRIEND


Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has visited Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine every year since taking office in 2001, most recently on New Year's Day. His absurd remarks on Tuesday defending the visits have again provoked fierce indignation among the peoples of China and other Asian countries.

Asked in the Diet, or parliament, whether he felt reluctant to visit Yasukuni because it enshrines war criminals, Koizumi said: "I have no such feeling."

Fourteen Class A war criminals, including war-time prime minister Hideli Tojo, were enshrined in Yasukuni.

Koizumi said he didn't feel like commenting on the problem of Class-A war criminals either.

He proclaimed he had no regrets about visiting the Yasukuni Shrine and that he had no intention to change his ways just because other countries demanded it.

These words, uttered in disregard of opposition from the nations that fell victims to Japan's aggression, have once again hurt the feelings of the peoples who suffered bitterly from Japan's invasion.

After each visit to Yasukuni, Koizumi would claim that he was praying for peace.

Praying for peace by idolizing the war criminals who destroyed peace, whose hands were blotted with the blood of peoples of China and other Asian countries?

What kind of logic is this!

How would Koizumi respond to the innocent civilians who were cruelly murdered by the Japanese militarists?

As a close neighbor, China has always cherished its relations with Japan. With the development of both countries, their cooperation and shared interests are constantly broadened. Any impediment to the healthy growth of Sino-Japanese ties could never last long.

However, developing Sino-Japan relations brooks no ambiguity nor reneging on promises. "Taking history as a mirror and looking into the future" is only correct attitude toward bilateral ties, advocated by personages of vision in both countries.

A proper attitude toward history concerns the political basis of Sino-Japanese relations and is an important condition for Japan to be trusted by Asia and the international community.

Japanese leaders should keep the promise to reflect on history and refrain from making any more moves or comments that would hurt the feelings of the peoples of countries victimized by Japan's wartime aggression so as to ensure the sound and stable advance of Japan's relations with China and other Asian nations.


Questions?Comments? Click here
    Advanced






Koizumi remarks spark China "dissatisfaction and regret"

S.Korean government "regret" over Koizumi's remarks on enshrinement of war criminals

Japanese PM: I'll Continue to Visit Yasukuni Shrine





 


Why Lai Changxing's appeal to Canadian court rejected? ( 6 Messages)

Japan decides to further cut back economic aid to China ( 30 Messages)

US media urge gov't not to surrender China market to EU ( 2 Messages)

Bird flu detected in US as virus wanes in Asia ( 2 Messages)

Handling Sino-Japan ties in an overall perspective ( 4 Messages)



Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved