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Koizumi to 'decide appropriately' on Yasukuni visit this spring+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, April 20_(Kyodo) _ Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reiterated Thursday that he will "decide appropriately" whether to visit the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine during its annual spring festival starting Friday, showing no sign of budging on the issue amid tensions with South Korea over what Seoul says is a history-linked dispute. "I have decided to only say that I will decide on it appropriately," Koizumi told reporters at his official residence. In 2002, the premier made his second contentious visit during the shrine's three-day spring festival in a surprise move that contradicted his previous comments to reporters and sparked further protests from China and South Korea. His fifth annual visit last October caused his Chinese and South Korean counterparts to refuse to hold bilateral and trilateral summit talks with him. Koizumi nevertheless reiterated Thursday that he is ready to meet "anytime" with South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun, referring not only to the Yasukuni issue but also to the ongoing dispute over Japan's planned maritime survey around a pair of islets both countries claim, called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in Korea. "I think they (South Korea) recognize the importance of Japan-South Korea friendship from an overall viewpoint, despite various issues on which opinions are different, such as the Takeshima issue," he said. "I don't take the approach of not holding talks because of one problem," he said. "My doors are open anytime." Roh reportedly said Tuesday that Tokyo's planned survey around the disputed isles seems to be "in line with its continued distortion of our shared history and its political leaders' repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine," and is "an act to justify Japan's past aggression." |