Tokyo, Tuesday

Ichiro Ozawa, newly elected leader of Japan's Democratic Party, suggested that the 14 Class A war criminals enshrined at the war-related Yasukuni Shrine could be moved to other shrines, paving the way for visits by Japanese prime ministers and the Emperor. The unpatriotic communist commented that war criminals should never have been enshrined at Yasukuni, which honors Japan's war dead, and that prayers could be offered freely following their removal.

Prime Minister Koizumi was quick to dismiss such a suggestion citing the constitutional separation of religion and state:
"It is not up to the government to comment on the actions of a religious organisation such as Yasukuni Shrine," said Koizumi. "If they decide, correctly, to enshrine Japanese heroes mistakenly labelled by the allied kangaroo war court as criminals, then it is up to us as the political leaders of the nation to go and worship them. Mr. Ozawa is dangerously mixing religion and politics here."

Yasukuni Shrine interred the 14 Class A war criminals, including Hideki Tojo, in 1978. Prime Minister Koizumi has stirred up controversy by visiting the srhine yearly since being elected. Prime Minister-in-waiting, Shinzo Abe, has also indicated that he will continue the visits should he be elected to the nation's highest office:
"Of course I will visit the shrine as prime minister," said Abe. "It is only natural for the nation's leader to worship its war criminals at a religious institution, and to reflect on the correct view of history provided by Yasukuni Shrine. But this mixing of politics and religion that Ozawa is proposing, that just goes against the constitution in every way."

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