Japan PM to seek South Korea understanding on Yasukuni
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-06-16 14:00

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Thursday he will try to obtain the understanding of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun for his controversial visits to a Tokyo shrine for war dead.

Koizumi will hold talks with Roh in Seoul on Monday.

"I'd like to have frank discussions and seek understanding," he told reporters.

South Korean women who said they were forced to become sex slaves by the Japanese military during World War Two shout slogans at an anti-Japan rally against Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to South Korea in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul June 15, 2005.[Reuters]

South Korea, along with China, has asked Koizumi to stop visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, where convicted war criminals are honored along with other Japanese war dead.

South Korea repeated on Wednesday that Japan must face up to its past if it wants to improve ties.

"Without a resolution of the history issue, reconciliation and cooperation between neighbors will be impossible," said South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, adding that the Yasukuni visits would be high on the summit agenda.

Koizumi, who last visited the shrine in January 2004, reiterated on Thursday that he would make an "appropriate decision" on future visits.

He said he had fully explained in Japan why he visits the shrine seen by other Asian countries as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

"I have explained this in my remarks in parliament," he said.

Koizumi has repeatedly said his visits are not intended to glorify militarism but to honor the war dead and pray for peace.

Several former prime ministers and the head of a Japanese veterans group have urged Koizumi to stop going to Yasukuni, saying he should bear in mind the situation with neighboring countries and the repercussions. Surveys show more Japanese voters oppose the visits than support them.

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