Japan seeks US understanding of PM's shrine visit

Japan on Thursday sought US' understanding of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to a war-related shrine in Tokyo, the Foreign Ministry said, after Washington expressed displeasure at the visit. During a telephone conference with US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida explained Abe's intentions on visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, the ministry said in a press release. Kennedy replied that she will convey Kishida's explanation to Washington, the ministry said. Earlier in the day, Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine, drawing strong criticism from China and South Korea. He is the first premier in office to visit the controversial shrine since then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in 2006. The shrine honors 14 World War II Class-A war criminals along with 2.5 million war dead. To China, South Korea and other Asian countries, the Yasukuni Shrine is a symbol of Japan's militant past and these countries consider visits to it by leading Japanese politicians insensitive and insulting. Following the Abe's visit, the US embassy in Tokyo issued a statement, saying, "The US is disappointed that Japan's leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan's neighbors." The US hopes that both Japan and its neighbors will find constructive ways to deal with sensitive issues from the past, to improve their relations, and to promote cooperation in advancing our shared goals of regional peace and stability, the embassy said. It was Abe's first visit to Yasukuni as Prime Minister. During his first stint as premier between 2006 and 2007, he did not visit the shrine in an effort to mend ties with China and South Korea. "It is not my intention at all to hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people. It is my wish to respect each other's character, protect freedom and democracy, and build friendship with China and Korea with respect, as did all the previous prime ministers who visited Yasukuni Shrine," Abe said in a statement after the visit to the shrine. "The purpose of my visit today, on the anniversary of my administration's taking office, is to report before the souls of the war dead how my administration has worked for one year and to renew the pledge that Japan must never wage a war again," the premier defended his visit. China and South Korea reacted sharply to Abe's visit, both governments summoning the Japanese envoys to protest the shrine visit. "(We) strongly protest and condemn the Japanese leader's wrongdoing," the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement immediately after Abe's visit, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency. In Seoul, Culture Minister Yoo Jin-ryong said, "Our government cannot repress condemnation and rage over Prime Minister Abe's paying of respects at the Yasukuni shrine that glorifies its colonial aggressions and enshrines war criminals," according to Yonhap News Agency.