Japanese Opposition Party Leader Protests Koizumi's Yasukuni VisitTakako Doi, leader of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP), on Tuesday lodged a protest against Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit the previous day to Yasukuni Shrine which enshrines Japan's war criminals along with war dead.Doi conveyed the protest in a meeting with Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda. "Visiting Yasukuni Shrine tramples on the freedom of religion and the separation of state and religion stated in the Constitution, and ignores concerns voiced by other Asian nations. We cannot forgive such an act," Doi said in a statement that she handed over to Fukuda. Koizumi visited the shrine on Monday afternoon, avoiding Wednesday, the 56th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II, the date he originally planned for the visit. Yasukuni enshrines 14 Class A war criminals along with 2.47 million Japanese who have died in wars since the mid-19th century. The shrine is controversial also because it was the bastion of military government-sponsored Shintoism, which is linked to the rise of militarism in Japan before World War II. |
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