Japan remembers WW II surrender at anniversary

‘‘I visited with a feeling of gratitude towards the peace that exists now and thinking that war should absolutely not be waged,’’ said Yoshitada Konoike, Minister for Disaster Management. Two other cabinet members, Agriculture Minister Yoshiyuki Kamei and Sadakazu Tanigaki, Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, also paid a visit on a day of pouring rain.

Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, tipped by some as a future Prime minister and known for his nationalist views, was in attendance, as were several lawmakers. But PM Junichiro Koizumi, who has outraged Japan’s Asian neighbours with past visits to the shrine, was not present. He marked the end of the war at secular ceremonies. At an official ceremony in Tokyo, Koizumi paid his respects to the Japanese who died in the war and touched on the suffering Japan caused to other Asian countries. ‘‘In the past war our country caused serious damage and pain to many countries, particularly to people of Asian countries,’’ Koizumi said. ‘‘As a representative of the Japanese people I would like to renew a deep sense of reconsideration and respectfully express condolences to the people who were victimised,’’ he said.

Koizumi, who faces an election for the leadership of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on September 20, last visited Yasukuni in January.

Political observers say the LDP leadership election could be followed by an early general election, a prospect that may have given some politicians an added incentive to visit Yasukuni this time. ‘‘Elections are near, and they (politicians) want the support of the Izokukai,’’ said political analyst Minoru Morita, referring to the Nihon Izokukai, an association representing relatives of Japan’s war dead that wields considerable clout in the LDP.

The latest visits by Japanese politicians took place just days after China’s foreign minister, Li Zhaoxing, warned Japanese leaders against going to the shrine. ‘‘Japanese leaders should not visit the shrine where A-class war criminals are also enshrined. It is a universally held view of the international community,’’ Li said.

China urged Japan on Friday to face up to its wartime past, but stopped short of condemning the group of Japanese Cabinet Ministers for paying homage to the shrine. ‘‘That invasion launched by Japanese militarism caused China and other Asian countries unprecedented and very grave disaster,’’ China’s Foreign Ministry said, referring to the 1937-45 Japanese invasion of China. ‘‘Correctly recognising and treating that part of history…is conducive to the healthy and steady development of friendly and neighbourly bilateral relations,’’ the Ministry said in a statement.

The main reason for the controversy surrounding Yasukuni is that 14 convicted ‘‘Class A’’ war criminals, including wartime Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, are among those enshrined there. (Reuters)