87 parliamentarians visit Yasukuni Shrine in biannual event+

TOKYO, April 22 Kyodo -
Eighty-seven Japanese parliamentarians, including 11 in government posts,
visited the war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo during its spring festival
Wednesday morning as part of a biannual group event.
The move came a day after Prime Minister Taro Aso admitted that he made an
offering for the three-day festival that began Tuesday, as well as for last
year's fall festival, prompting concerns from China and South Korea ahead of
his scheduled visit to China next week.
The participants on Wednesday included three senior vice ministers -- Wataru
Takeshita of finance, Toshio Yamauchi of education and Sanae Takaichi of
industry -- and eight parliamentary secretaries, said Yoshinobu Shimamura, a
ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker who heads the nonpartisan group that
promotes Yasukuni visits by parliamentarians.
Commenting on Aso's actions, Shimamura said, ''He expressed his will, I think,
by dedicating 'masakaki' since he was unable to attend (the event) because of
his position,'' praising it as ''a good thing.''
Aso presented ''masakaki'' -- potted branches of the ''sakaki'' evergreen tree,
considered sacred in Shinto religion -- to the shrine under the name ''prime
minister'' and paid for the cost himself, sources close to the prime minister
said Tuesday.
The Shinto shrine, dedicated to the war dead, is seen by Japan's Asian
neighbors as a symbol of Japan's militarist past because it also honors
convicted World War II criminals.
Members of Aso's LDP, the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, the tiny
People's New Party and the single-seat New Party Daichi were among the 87
participants.
==Kyodo
2009-04-22 23:38:23