The Fukuoka District Court in southwestern Japan ruled on Wednesday that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine on August 13, 2001 violated the constitutional principle of the separation of religion and state. 

In the first such ruling against Koizumi's annual pilgrimages, the court was quoted as saying: "Despite strong opposition from within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and ordinary citizens, Koizumi went four times to Yasukuni, which cannot be said to be the best place to honor war dead. This was based on political calculations."

This is a landmark admonishment of Koizumi's visits to the controversial shrine where 2.5 million Japanese war dead -- including 14 Class-A World War II war criminals -- are honored.

Although the court rejected a demand by 211 plaintiffs for damages of 100,000 yen (US$945) each, the ruling could affect other lawsuits filed against Koizumi's shrine visits, where verdicts are still pending.

Now that Wednesday's ruling offers Koizumi no judicial guarantee for future shrine visits, he is under unprecedented pressure to stop visiting the shrine in his capacity as prime minister.

However, asked if he would return to the shrine, Koizumi replied: "I will."

If nothing else, he does speak his mind.

"It's strange," the prime minister told the press in the wake of the court ruling. "I don't know why it violated the constitution."

Surely Koizumi is not being honest -- he is well aware of the legal and political sensitivity surrounding his visits when he arrives in a government vehicle in an official capacity.

Article 20 of the Japanese Constitution prohibits the state and its organs from conducting religious education and any form of religious activities. There is no doubt that the Yasukuni Shrine is a religious symbol.

Each of his four visits to the shrine since he assumed Japanese leadership in 2001 have drawn broad indignation and criticism both at home and abroad. But the outcry from Asian nations does not bother him. Koizumi's contempt for Japan's Asian victims is crystal clear.

Koizumi has repeatedly defended his Yasukuni pilgrimages as an attempt to "pray for peace."

What is the logic behind his self-contradictory conclusion that peace is founded upon reverence for slaughter?

It is nothing but hypocritical for the Japanese leader to explain his actions as peaceful sentiment.

He may think his tough attitude has won support domestically, but it is by no means a strategic gain.

Paying homage to the shrine that symbolizes Japan's militarist past not only rubs salt into the wounds of his victimized neighbors, but also casts doubt over the sincerity of the remorse the Japanese Government has expressed toward the nation's World War II crimes.

Koizumi's stubbornly unapologetic stance clearly shows that his political orientation sits well with some segments of Japanese society, notably the right.

When Koizumi bows to the spiritual tablets of Tojo Hideki, one of the most infamous war criminals, and others, he has his party behind him.

On January 16, Koizumi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party wrote in its 2004 guidelines of action that it would continue to promote visits to the shrine.

As a career politician, Koizumi should fully understand how his irresponsible actions can fray diplomatic relations with Japan's neighbors.

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

His visits to the shrine should be stopped on legal, moral decency and political consciousness grounds.

(China Daily April 9, 2004)