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Koizumi Still 'Thinking Carefully' About Shrine Visit
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Monday he has yet to make a final decision on whether to visit Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine for war dead on the Aug. 15 anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.
''I am in the process of listening to opinions from various sectors in an open manner. I am thinking about it carefully,'' the premier said when asked whether he has changed his mind about making the visit.
''I must reach a conclusion soon, but I need more time,'' he said.
Paying homage to the shrine on Aug. 15 would most certainly upset China and South Korea, which have opposed the visit mainly because Yasukuni enshrines Japanese wartime military leaders who were convicted as Class A war criminals.
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