Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi today made a pilgrimage to a Tokyo war shrine reviled by critics as a symbol of militarism, triggering a further erosion in Japan’s ties with its neighbours just a month before he leaves office.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has supported Japanese membership of the UN Security Council while preparing to visit South Korea in a less confrontational approach to persuading North Korea to return to international nuclear disarmament talks.