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3 Ministers Back Koizumi Visit to Yasukuni
Three Cabinet ministers expressed their support Tuesday for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's plan to visit Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15.
At a press conference after a Cabinet meeting, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma voiced his support for Koizumi's planned visit to the shrine that memorializes the country's war dead including Class-A war criminals.
"The prime minister should visit the shrine as he has pledged to do so since the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election," Hiranuma said.
Koji Omi, state minister for Okinawa, Northern Territories, Science and Technology Policy, echoed Hiranuma's remark. "The prime minister's intention (to visit the shrine) is a matter of course," he said.
Public Management Minister Toranosuke Katayama also expressed his support for Koizumi's planned visit to the shrine.
Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, who had expressed strong opposition to Koizumi's plan to visit Yasukuni Shrine, appears to have softened her stance. "We have entered a stage when we should respect his decision and position," Tanaka said.
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