Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday rebuffed criticism of his recent Yasukuni Shrine trip, saying visiting the shrine is a right guaranteed by the Constitution.
Koizumi made the comments during a one-on-one question period with Democratic Party of Japan leader Seiji Maehara before the Diet.
During the session, Maehara's first since being elected leader of the main opposition in late September, the DPJ chief criticized Koizumi for "cutting off the (nation's) course to strategic and comprehensive dialogue with China" by visiting the Tokyo shrine, which honors 14 Class-A war criminals along with 2.46 million war dead.