From the AP:
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi prayed at the Yasukuni war shrine Tuesday to mark Tokyo’s World War II surrender, triggering immediate protests by China and South Korea but cheering his conservative followers.
It was Koizumi’s sixth visit to the shrine since taking office in 2001, but his first on the highly symbolic Aug. 15 anniversary of Japan’s 1945 defeat. He is the first prime minister to make such a visit since Yasuhiro Nakasone in 1985. [Full text]
See also “China strongly protests against Koizumi’s visit to Yasukuni Shrine” from People’s Daily, and “Ian Buruma, Author of `The Wages of Guilt,’ on Yasukuni Visits” from Bloomberg.
