Yasukuni/koizumi

"People criticizing me are telling me not to do anything to annoy China and South Korea. But I don't think that's necessarily right,

"If Bush of the United States tells me not to go, would I stop? No, I would still go even then. But President Bush would not say anything so immature,"

"Even if I avoided August 15, there are always some forces and some people who criticize me and try to bring up this issue,"

"As the difference is the same no matter when I go, I think today is an appropriate day."

Koizumi said he was honoring all war dead and not necessarily the war criminals such as hanged prime minister Hideki Tojo, who ordered the attack on Pearl Harbor.AFP

AFP/Pool - Tue Aug 15, 3:55 AM ET
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (R) has apologized again for the "huge damage and suffering" Japan inflicted on Asian nations in the 20th century, hours after a visit to a controversial war shrine(AFP/Pool/Toshifumi Kitamura)(AFP/Pool/Toshifumi Kitamura) AFP/Poolyahoo

marmot hall The comments are interesting. I was expecting more severe attack on Koizumi was coming. For some reason, the atmosphere of K blog sphere has changed.

I think Yasukuni's war manorial definitely needs correction in its historiography