Koizumi to continue to visit war shrine

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will continue his annual visits to a war shrine, a close aide said today, despite furious objections from China and other Asian countries who say the visits glorify Japan’s past wartime brutality.

Koizumi believes it’s his responsibility, as head of the nation, to pray for its war dead, said Taku Yamasaki, the prime minister’s adviser and a senior lawmaker in the ruling party.