Japan ruling party pledges visits to Tokyo war shrine

TOKYO, Jan 17 (Reuters) Japan's ruling party today adopted a platform pledging visits to a war shrine that China and South Korea view as a symbol of Tokyo's past militarism.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took office in September, has worked hard to improve ties with his neighbours that had chilled largely because of visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine by predecessor Junichiro Koizumi.

But the 52-year-old conservative leader has visited the shrine in the past and has declined to say whether he would do so again.

''By continuing visits to Yasukuni Shrine, we will humbly show our respect for those who became the cornerstone of the country, and vowing never to go to war, reaffirm our determination for eternal peace,'' the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said in a policy platform adopted at its annual convention today.

The document did not specify whether the visits should be made by the prime minister.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is scheduled to visit Japan in April, but Chinese officials have warned that disputes over the two countries' shared war-time past could still damage efforts to repair frayed relations.

Koizumi had said repeatedly that his pilgrimages to Yasukuni -- where Japanese World War Two leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal are honoured along with millions of war dead -- were intended to pledge not to go to war.

Abe, speaking to a crowd of party faithful, reiterated his plan to enact legislation setting out procedures to revise the US-drafted 1947 pacifist constitution, which conservative critics say keeps Japan from playing a bigger role in global and regional security matters.

He also expressed confidence he could lead the LDP to victory in elections later this year.

Local elections will be held in April followed by a poll for parliament's less powerful upper house in July.

Despite diplomatic successes, Abe has seen his public support slip to below 50 percent from 65 per cent when he took office because of doubts about his commitment to economic reform as well as a series of scandals involving hand-picked appointees.

REUTERS BDP DS1205