Nearly three out of five Japanese interviewed by a poll published by Kyodo news agency Saturday think Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi should not visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine this year.

Among the 1,016 people who responded to the telephone poll, 57. 7 percent think Koizumi should avoid visiting Yasukuni this year so as to ease tension with Asian neighboring countries, up from 40. 8 percent in a December poll.

Those supporting Koizumi's shrine visit fell to 34.3 percent from 51 percent.

When asked whether they think the Japanese government has done enough to improve relations with China that has been soured in recent years, 50.8 percent of interviewees think not sufficient efforts have been made, while only 11.5 percent think Japan's efforts are adequate.

Relations between China and Japan has been strained since Koizumi took office in 2001 and visited the Yasukuni Shrine every year since. Honoring 14 convicted Class-A World War II war criminals along with 2.5 million war dead, the shrine is regarded by China as a symbol of Japan's militarist past, and Koizumi's annual shrine visit angered China and other Asian countries.

Last week, then-visiting Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi abruptly canceled a planned meeting with Koizumi as a protest after the prime minister said that he has every right to visit Yasukuni to honor Japan's war dead.

Source: Xinhua