Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors the country's World War II war criminals, met more criticism in Japan on Wednesday.

Japanese domestic opposition to the shrine visit has been on an upsurge, the daily Asahi Shimbun said in an editorial, adding that several former prime ministers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to which Koizumi belongs have expressed their discontent with the visit.

Koizumi's wrong deed has not only aroused domestic confusion, but also has promoted nationalism and led Japanese diplomacy into a dead end, the editorial said, accusing the prime minister of leaving a "negative legacy" to the next administration.

According to an opinion poll conducted by the Asahi Shimbun in July, 57 percent of respondents were opposed to Koizumi's shrine visit.

The Daily News said Koizumi could not easily define the shrine visit as his "personal capacity," which has been used as an excuse by the prime minister for his visits to the shrine over the past several years.

Instead, Koizumi, in the post of prime minister, represents the Japanese people, it said.

Koizumi's personal feelings do not count since the shrine visit has developed into a diplomatic issue, the editorial stressed, saying that visits to the shrine will definitely hurt the feelings of the people who have suffered from Japanese invasion.

Motofumi Asai, Hiroshima Peace Institute director, said Koizumi's shrine visit violated Japan's Peace Constitution, which stipulated the principle of separating religion from state affairs.

"He even entered the main hall of the shrine, showing a strong indication that he was in his official capacity," Asai said. "That demonstrated how the prime minister despises the country's constitution."

Koizumi went to the shrine by official vehicle, and signed as "Prime Minister of the Cabinet" on the guest book, so he was not there in a personal capacity at all, said Takahashi, a professor of Tokyo University.

The Yasukuni Shrine, established in 1869 under Emperor Meiji, honors 2.5 million Japanese war dead including 14 class-A war criminals responsible for some of the most atrocious crimes during Japan's war of aggression against its Asian neighbors during World War II.

Source: Xinhua