Former Japanese officials raps shrine visits
(Agencies)
Updated: 2006-05-29 10:54 Former spokesman raps Japan PM over
shrine
And former
Japanese government spokesman Takeo Fukuda has sharply criticized Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi over visits to a Tokyo war shrine which have triggered a
regional diplomatic crisis, a Japanese national newspaper said on Sunday.
Former Japanese
government spokesman Takeo Fukuda.
[file] | Fukuda, widely tipped to be a candidate to succeed Koizumi when he steps down
in September, is known for a relatively conciliatory attitude to China and South
Korea.
Both countries suffered brutal Japanese occupation before and during World
War Two, and have been angered by the prime minister's visits to the Yasukuni
shrine.
"It is a truly unhappy situation," Fukuda told an audience in the industrial
city of Nagoya on Saturday, referring to the chilling of relations with Japan's
Asian neighbors, the Mainichi Shimbun reported.
"Saying 'What's wrong with going to Yasukuni?' makes them emotional. Having
the respective leaders and peoples get emotional is the worst situation," it
quoted him as adding.
Current top government spokesman Shinzo Abe, known for his hawkish views on
China and North Korea, consistently tops public opinion polls on who should
succeed Koizumi. But in recent weeks some polls have shown Fukuda, one of his
predecessors as chief cabinet secretary, making gains, with voters citing
concerns about Japanese diplomacy.
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