Premier Again Visits Controversial Shrine
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From Times Wire Reports
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi started the New Year by visiting a shrine honoring Japan’s war dead, a decision that is certain to rile countries in Asia that Japan invaded and brutally occupied last century.
The prime minister has insisted on making annual trips to Tokyo’s Yasukuni shrine, which honors about 2.5 million war dead, including executed criminals such as war-era Prime Minister Hideki Tojo. Japan’s neighbors say the shrine glorifies Japan’s militaristic past.
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