Naoto Kan, secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan, said Friday that Class-A war criminals enshrined at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which is dedicated to Japan's war dead, should be enshrined at a different location.
Kan expressed his views on the issue in reference to the willingness voiced by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to visit the shrine in an official capacity.
Kan told a news conference that if it is difficult to enshrine the war criminals separately, then a new memorial should be created so that the government can pay homage in an official capacity.