Japan PM won't visit war shrine for now: Report

Tokyo, Aug 7: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will avoid stirring trouble with Asian neighbours by staying away from a controversial war shrine on the anniversary of the country's World War Two surrender, a newspaper said today.

With his public support nosediving after last month's disastrous upper house election, Abe might have been tempted to court conservatives by visiting Yasukuni Shrine on August 15.

But that would destroy diplomatic bridges Abe has built with China and South Korea, an accomplishment that has won praise.

The Tokyo Shimbun, a regional daily, said Abe had decided to stay away on the emotive anniversary next week, although he may still decide to go later in the year.

Visits to Yasukuni by Abe's predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, angered many in China and South Korea, where it is seen as a symbol of Japan's World War Two aggression because wartime leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal are honoured there.

Analysts said a decision to stay away would be no surprise.

''I don't think he will go,'' said political analyst Akira Hayasaka. ''His most widely praised achievement has been his work on relations with China and South Korea. If he does make the pilgrimage, he will have nothing left.'' Abe flew to Beijing and Seoul weeks after taking office last year, in an effort to mend chilly ties.

A Yasukuni visit might also affect relations with the United States, where some are critical of Tokyo's attitude to its past.

Last month, the US House of Representatives called on Japan to apologise for forcing thousands of women into sexual servitude for its soldiers during and before the war.

Abe, 52, came under fire overseas this year for saying there was no proof the Japanese government or military had forced women into wartime brothels, although he said he stood by a 1993 government apology to the women.

The hawkish Abe has refused to say whether he would visit Yasukuni as prime minister.

Japanese public opinion is divided on the pilgrimages, and Koizumi, who took office promising to pay homage at Yasukuni on Aug 15, did not fulfil the pledge until just before he resigned.

Many would see a shrine visit by Abe, whose grip on power is shaky after a drubbing in the July 29 upper house election, as a sign that he too is ready to step down, analysts said.

''His top priority is to extend his political life and he won't do anything that might damage his prospects of doing that,'' said political analyst Minoru Morita.

Media reports said Abe quietly paid his respects at Yasukuni in April last year before he became premier, and he sent an offering during the shrine's spring festival this year, sparking complaints from other Asian countries.

Reuters>