Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has brought his country disharmony with Asian neighbors since he came to power in April 2001, more so than any of his predecessors. 

Under his administration, the Japanese Government has paid even less respect to the feelings of its Asian neighbors and their World War II victims, as well as on other issues.

It is under his leadership that a handful of Japanese rightist forces have further distorted his country's history textbooks in an attempt to whitewash its aggressive past.

It is also under his administration that the Japanese Government has been unremitting in giving the country's Self-Defence Force (SDF) a bigger role, both at home and abroad, by breaking away from the restraints of its post-war pacifist constitution.

Hence, Koizumi was consistent with his long-standing attitude when he said at a parliamentary committee last Tuesday that he was not troubled by the fact that his country's past war criminals are honored at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine where lie the remains of Hideki Tojo, Japan's wartime prime minister, and 13 other Class A war criminals.

He also pledged to continue his annual visits to the shrine.

Since he came to office in 1991, the prime minister has made four trips, the latest on January 1. This is the most any serving Japanese prime minister has made.

Koizumi defended his Yasukuni "pilgrimages" as an attempt to "pray for peace" and said that the outcry from Asian nations does not worry him.

"They are not in a position to make a fuss about Class A war criminals," Koizumi said. "I have no intention of changing my feelings about this matter."

Putting aside whether his words are sincere or not, Koizumi deserves our admiration not only for his consistency, despite opposition both at home and abroad, but also for his obstinacy in speaking his mind, which is not a quality people associate with contemporary politicians today.

Though he has made it clear that he is not apologetic for his visits to the shrine, common sense dictates that he must feel troubled by the opposition to his actions from his Asian neighbors, though he said he would not change his feelings toward the dead just because other countries say "do this, do that."

As a responsible politician, Koizumi should feel more obliged than the average citizen to act and speak in compliance with laws and moral standards.

Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine, though perhaps not illegal, should be cancelled out of moral decency and political consciousness.

Paying homage to the shrine symbolic of Japan's militarist past not only shows contempt for its Asian victims, but also shows his contempt for its own peace-loving people who are pushing their country to rid itself of militarism.

Koizumi said his Yasukuni visits were to pay respect to those who died and explained that they were a symbol that Japan would never wage a war again.

A man who does not forget to pay respect to the dead is surely honorable and deserves respect from all.

But Koizumi told a barefaced lie to his fellows and the whole world.

Most nations in the world likely share this tradition of paying respect to the dead given that those who have passed on have left behind valuable lessons and precedents that current generations benefit from.

However, war criminals honored at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine are by no means part of this category.

They are not those who left their descendants with wonderful things worth recalling.

Instead, they left Japan and its Asian neighbors with the painful legacy of war, manslaughter and death.

Koizumi said his visits were to pray for peace. But he is the only one in the world who has come to the self-contradictory conclusion that peace is founded upon reverence for slaughter.

He also said he expected understanding and respect from Asian neighbors toward Japan's tradition of revering the dead.

While saying this, it is obvious that Koizumi does not understand or respect the feelings of the people of other Asian nations toward their numerous victimized ancestors.

Respect for the killers means disrespect for those killed.

Koizumi, an experienced politician, should understand how irresponsible these visits to the Yasukuni Shrine -- by a prime minister in power -- are and how they can fray diplomatic relations with Japan's Asian neighbors.

Koizumi's actions and unapologetic stance clearly show his political orientation sits well with some segments of Japan's population, notably the right.

Without a complete reflection on Japan's past militarism in the post-World War II period, Koizumi's Yasukuni visits signal a dangerous precedent for the nation's political trend.

(China Daily February 20, 2004)