South Korea's ruling and opposition parties voiced bipartisan protests Monday against Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reported plan to pay tribute this week at a controversial war shrine in Tokyo.
The South Korean government has also warned that Koizumi's pilgrimage to the Yasukuni Shrine will further undermine Tokyo's already-troubled ties with neighboring nations.
Tensions have been running high in the region, as Japanese media said Koizumi is likely to visit the shrine on Tuesday, Aug. 15, the anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II. Koizumi, elected in 2001 after pledging during the campaign to visit the shrine on the anniversary, is to step down next month.
The Yasukuni Shrine honors roughly 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including 14 Class-A war criminals. The name of the shrine means "country of peace" in Japanese.
The shrine is notorious among many Asians, especially in South Korea and China which regard it as a symbol of Japan's imperialistic past.
A large number of Korean and Chinese people say the shrine's continuing popularity among Japanese leaders is a stark reminder that they have yet to adopt a correct view of the country's wartime atrocities.
"Japan's attitude remains unchanged even 60 years after (Korea's) independence from Japan's colonial rule," Kim Han-gill, floor leader of the ruling Uri Party said in a party meeting on the Yasukuni issue. "If Japan continues provocative acts threatening East Asia, we won't be able to overlook it."
Hwang Woo-yea, secretary-general of the main opposition Grand National Party, echoed the blunt rhetoric.
"Koreans are reminded of their bitter, painful wounds when major Japanese politicians, including the prime minister, pay homage at the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Class-A war criminals," Hwang said.
The political parties called for the government to take diplomatic measures against Koizumi's almost-certain shrine visit this month.
"We are closely watching the situation. We will take appropriate actions in response," a ranking official at Seoul's Foreign Ministry said, asking to remain anonymous.
The measures could include the issuance of a strongly-worded statement and the summoning of the Japanese ambassador to Seoul, he added.
SeouL, Aug. 14 (Yonghap News)
S. Korea protests against Koizumi's planned shrine visit |
