Three Japanese state ministers visited a controversial war shrine yesterday as Japan commemorated the 59th anniversary of its surrender in World War II.
About 6,000 people including aging veterans and relatives of war dead as well as Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko attended a ceremony at the Budokan Hall on the edge of Tokyo's Imperial Palace grounds.
PHOTO: REUTERS
But in a move likely to spark protests from Asian countries, three state ministers visited the controversial Yasukuni shrine, widely seen as a symbol of Japan's former militarism.
The three were Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Shoichi Nakagawa, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshiyuki Kamei and National Public Safety Commission chairwoman Kiyoko Ono.
They were joined by about 50 members of parliament, led by former prime minister Tsutomu Hata.
The Yasukuni shrine, which is next to the Imperial Palace, honors 2.5 million Japanese fallen in modern wars, including wartime prime minister General Hideki Tojo.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made his controversial annual pilgrimage to the shrine on January 1 this year, leading to protests from China, North Korea, South Korea and Taiwan.
In an address during the ceremony, Koizumi expressed his oft-expressed remorse for Japan's aggression against its Asian neighbors and renewed his pledge to renounce the war.
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