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TOKYO: More than 50 Japanese politicians on Tuesday visited a controversial war shrine in Tokyo, but the new centre-left Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his Cabinet stayed away.
Leaders of the group who visited the Yasukuni Shrine, which honours 2.5 million war dead including 14 top war criminals, said they regretted Hatoyama's decision not to pray at the Shinto sanctuary to mark its autumn festival.
"The prime minister should offer his prayers," said Hidehisa Otsuji, a lawmaker with the conservative opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who led the group that also included members of Hatoyama's party. "It is unfortunate that he does not do it."
The group routinely visits the shrine, which is viewed by some Asian nations as a symbol of Japan's past militarism – especially by China and the two Koreas which suffered Japanese aggression before and during World War II.
Hatoyama and his Democratic Party of Japan, which came to power last month, have long argued against Yasukuni Shrine visits by past prime ministers and have recommended building a new non-religious war memorial.
LDP leader Sadakazu Tanigaki visited the shrine on Monday. Leaders and officials from past LDP administrations infuriated other Asian nations with their visits.
Former LDP prime minister Junichiro Koizumi prayed once a year at the shrine during his 2001-2006 tenure, enraging China and South Korea, which refused to hold any summits with him.
Koizumi's three LDP successors, including hawkish premiers, avoided visiting the shrine, but sometimes gave traditional offerings, which also prompted angry responses from Beijing and Seoul.
- AFP/so
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