Koizumi Vows to Make Yasukuni Visits Official if Elected
Junichiro Koizumi,one of the four Japanese politicians of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who have had filed their candidacies in the upcoming party presidential election, has assured the Japan War-Bereaved Association that he would pay tribute to Japan's war dead at the Yasukuni Shrine if he is elected leader of ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a senior Koizumi aide said Monday.
The pledge indicates that the four contenders in next week's LDP presidential election views the association, a strong LDP backer,as vital in tipping the balance of the four-way contest to succeed Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.
Prime Minister-hopeful Junichiro Koizumi has has assured the Japan War-Bereaved Association that he would pay tribute to Japan's war dead at the Yasukuni Shrine if he is elected leader of ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a senior Koizumi aide said Monday.