Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan on Thursday warned that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi could set back bilateral relations if he goes ahead with his plan to visit Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15.
During a meeting with Hiromu Nonaka, former secretary general of the Liberal Democratic, Tang said Koizumi's visit in an official capacity to the Shinto shrine that honors Japan's war dead would dash plans to use next year's 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations as a stepping stone for further development of friendly ties, according to LDP officials.
Koizumi plans to visit the shrine, where seven Class A war criminals are enshrined, on the Aug. 15 anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender.
Tang issued a similar call for Koizumi to cancel the visit during talks on July 24 with his Japanese counterpart, Makiko Tanaka.