As Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi rose to power this year with pledges of radical reform, one 77-year-old Diet veteran made a brief return to the political arena before deciding to abandon his life's work.
After hearing Koizumi say that he wanted to visit Yasukuni Shrine, which honors the nation's war dead -- including Class-A war criminals -- on the Aug. 15 anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, Hideo Den retracted an earlier decision to retire and ran unsuccessfully for a sixth term in July's Upper House election.
"Having not experienced war, even as children, most Diet members today seem to glorify and think lightly of war," said Den, who served in the House of Councilors for 30 years.