While campaigning for Liberal Democratic Party president in 2001, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi vowed he would visit the Yasukuni Shrine "against whatever criticisms," and he has made good on this pledge five times so far.

His visits to the controversial place, which honours Japanese war dead along with Class-A war criminals of World War II, is 100 per cent a political action, although he insists it is a personal matter.

On his latest and fifth visit Monday, Koizumi took a number of cautious steps apparently to minimize repercussions among his Asian neighbours.

He wore a grey business suit and blue tie instead of traditional Japanese dress, or the formal mourning suit he had worn on previous visits to the shrine. Moreover, he made a short silent prayer before an altar for general worshippers, which is not inside the main hall, and he did not sign a shrine register as "Prime Minister."

Even the low-key appearance, however, provoked heated reaction from Seoul and Beijing. China snubbed ministerial meetings with Japan, and the Republic of Korea (ROK) is considering cancelling President Roh Moo-hyun's summit with Koizumi scheduled for December. Koizumi was particularly adamant this time, telling reporters after the shrine visit that foreign governments should not interfere in matters of personal belief.

"In principle, other people should not meddle with matters of the heart," Koizumi said. "Much more, foreign governments should not say 'you should not' when the Japanese are offering sincere condolences to the war dead."

It truly is a tedious diplomatic task to lodge a protest each time the Japanese prime minister visits Yasukuni. ROK and Chinese leaders had advised Koizumi to reconsider his Yasukuni visit, but the smiling Japanese prime minister paid no heed.

It is also futile to demand that Japan establish a new monument for public worship and warn it against the resurgence of Japanese militarism.

Whatever they claim, there can be no denying that Koizumi and other pro-Yasukuni politicians are paying the visit to the shrine for their political cause on one hand and its effect on votes on the other. So, we now have to ask them to extend their wise calculations to measure the consequences of their allegedly personal deeds for their broad national interest.

Co-operative relations with ROK and China, the two economic powerhouses of the region, are vital for the future of Japan. What benefit is there, we wonder, to provoke the national feelings of the two closest neighbours six decades after the end of the war, putting bilateral relations in jeopardy?

Upbeat with the success of his political adventure through a snap election which gave his party a landslide victory, Koizumi perhaps has forgotten what complex regional agenda lies ahead, including the crucial six-party talks on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. If his one-minute silent prayer at Yasukuni leads to a breakdown or indefinite delay of the multilateral talks, Koizumi will then realize his recklessness.

As for the regular summit between Roh and Koizumi in December in Japan and their private meeting during the APEC summit next month, we hope Cheong Wa Dae will not cancel these talks.

We should continue to explore a better future until finally the conscientious people of Japan hold sway over those still fancying the nation's militarist past.

Source: The Korea Herald (ROK)