Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, ignoring criticism from both home and abroad, on Tuesday visited the Yasukuni Shrine.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    TOKYO, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, ignoring criticism from home and abroad, visited the war criminals-honoring Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo early Tuesday morning.

    Koizumi, in a tailcoat, arrived at the shrine at around 7:40 a.m. local time Tuesday (2240 GMT Monday). He then bowed in the main hall of the shrine.

    The Chinese Foreign Ministry, in a statement, lodged a strong protest against Tuesday's visit by Koizumi to the shrine, which has been regarded as a symbol of the past Japanese militarism.

    Koizumi has visited the shrine for five consecutive years since he took office in April 2001. But Tuesday's visit was the first he had paid on Aug. 15, the anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War Two.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (C)leaves the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, capital of Japan, Aug.15, 2006. Koizumi, ignoring criticism from both home and abroad, visited the Yasukuni Shrine which honors Japan's 14 notorious class-A war criminals of World War II on Tuesday morning. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    Koizumi, who last visited the shrine on October 17, 2005, is expected to step down as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) as well as premier in September.

    The Yasukuni Shrine, established in 1869 under Emperor Meiji, honors 2.5 million Japanese war dead including 14 class-A war criminals responsible for the most atrocious crimes during Japan's war of aggression against its Asian neighbors.

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

    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 thespeaker 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. Enditem

Backgrounder: Koizumi's six visits to war criminals-honoring shrine

    BEIJING, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday made the sixth visit to the Yasukuni Shrine which honors Japan's notorious World War II war criminals, ignoring criticism from both home and abroad.

    The outgoing prime minister has made visits to the shrine for six consecutive years since taking office in 2001.

    Koizumi promised to visit the shrine as prime minister during his campaign for ruling party president in 2001. The pledge was seen as important to his election victory as it secured the votes of right wingers.

    On Aug. 13, 2001, Koizumi made his first visit to the shrine as prime minister. The visit sparkled strong protests from neighboring countries, but Koizumi continued his visits in the following years.

    Koizumi is to end his term as prime minister in September. His repeated visits to the notorious shrine have thrown his country into an awkward isolation in its Asian diplomacy.

    The visits also drew criticism from the Japanese public and news media. According to a recent public 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.

    Established in 1869 and funded by the government until 1945, the Yasukuni Shrine honors some 2 million Japanese war dead, including 14 wartime leaders convicted by an Allied tribunal as class-A war criminals.

    The war criminals honored at the shrine were responsible for the most atrocious crimes during Japan's war of aggression against its Asian neighbors. Enditem