A senior lawmaker yesterday vowed to continue his attacks on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, despite an arson attack on his home.

Koichi Kato's promise came as police arrested a 65-year-old member of a Tokyo right-wing group, charged with starting the fire.

Kato's office and home, which he shares with his mother, were destroyed in the arson attack after Koizumi visited the shrine on August 15, the anniversary of Japan's surrender at the end of World War II.

Kato had spent the day making a series of television appearances, criticising the visit.

Police yesterday arrested Masahiro Horigome, who was found on the evening of August 15 lying on the ground outside Kato's burning home, suffering form an apparently self-inflicted abdominal wound.

The arrest was delayed while Horigome recovered from the wound in hospital.

"The mental difficulty that I, my mother and my supporters suffered was tremendous," said Kato yesterday.

"However, if as a result of the incident I were to change the tone of my comments, I would cause even greater damage.

"As a parliamentarian, I have a responsibility to speak out about what I believe."

Kato now travels with a police-assigned bodyguard.

Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni shrine, which honours Japan's 2.5 million war dead, and includes the names of 14 Class-A war criminals, have divided Japan.

Kato said he is concerned about the rise of "hostile" nationalism in Japan, adding that fear of violence has intimidated liberal-leaning journalists, lawmakers and academics.

Source: China Daily