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Koizumi visits Yasukuni war shrine
 The Yasukuni shrine is dedicated to Japan's fallen troops. RELATED
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSTOKYO, Japan -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has visited the controversial Yasukuni war shrine that honors the war dead, a move that has prompted outrage from China and South Korea in the past. Among those honored at the Shinto monument to Japan's fallen troops are more than 1,000 convicted war criminals executed by the allies after World War II. This is Koizumi's fifth visit to Yasukuni since taking office in 2001, and he has repeatedly insisted his visits to the shrine are to honor Japan's war dead, and not to promote militarism. The visits have stirred debate in Japan and provoked protests from China and the two Koreas, which suffered under Japanese rule. They say the shrine visits glorifies Japan's past militarism. Koizumi paid his respects at an autumn festival at the shrine, Cabinet spokesman Yu Kameoka told The Associated Press. It was not immediately clear whether he visited in his official capacity or as a private citizen. The prime minister arrived in his official car and was accompanied by his secretary. Koizumi, wearing a dark gray suit, bowed in silence, made a donation and left, according to AP. In September, a Japanese court ruled that Koizumi's visits to the shrine violates the constitution, but rejected a group of Taiwanese plaintiffs' demands for compensation. (Full story) The Osaka High Court said Koizumi's worshipping at Yasukuni shrine is a public act and therefore violates the constitutional separation of state and religion, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said. The ruling, however, did not appear to have the power to prevent Koizumi from making further visits. Japan's pacifist constitution, drafted by U.S. occupation authorities after World War II, bans the state from religious activity. Japan's ruling party has proposed amending the constitution to weaken the division between religion and state -- a move that could give the prime minister greater freedom to visit Yasukuni. In August, Koizumi apologized for Japan's conduct and vowed his country would never again take "the path to war." The statement, issued on the 60th anniversary of the war's end, also acknowledged the "tremendous damage and suffering" Japanese troops inflicted on other Asian countries. The shrine, located near Tokyo's Imperial Palace, is dedicated to about 2.5 million people who have died in Japanese wars between 1853 and 1945. Its rolls include executed wartime prime minister Hideki Tojo and 13 other leaders convicted as Class A war criminals after World War II. CNN Correspondent Atika Shubert contributed to this report Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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