In 1978, 14 class-A war criminals, including wartime prime minister Hideki Tojo, were listed as the enshrined at the Yasukuni Shrine.

Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (C) is led by a Shinto priest (R) as he visits Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine August 15, 2006. Koizumi paid his respects at Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni shrine for war dead on Tuesday, the anniversary of his country's World War Two surrender, a parting shot sure to enrage neighbours China and South Korea. [Reuters]

Koizumi's visits to the shrine have been denounced by countries which suffered Japan's brutal aggression before and during World War II.

Koizumi's previous visits have chilled Japan's relations with neighboring China and South Korea, making the issue the major stumbling block in the smooth development of relations with those countries.

The visits also drew criticism from the public and news media in Japan. According to a recent opinion poll conducted by Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, 49 percent of the respondents are opposed to Koizumi's shrine visit as compared with 43 percent in favor.

Even in the United States, Koizumi's shrine visits have come under fire.

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on International Relations Chairman Henry J. Hyde had in April sent a letter to the speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, demanding Koizumi not be invited for a speech at Congress during his June visit to the United States, unless Tokyo pledged the Japanese leader would not pay any Shrine visit after returning home.

In Beijing, more than 30 Chinese people gathered outside the Japanese embassy on Tuesday morning, protesting against Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Yasukuni Shrine.

The protest activity lasted about 20 minutes.

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