Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will not visit Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, the 57th anniversary of the end of World War II, to pay his respects to the nation's war dead, the top government spokesman said Wednesday.
"Prime Minister Koizumi will not pay homage at the shrine on Aug. 15," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told reporters, noting that the prime minister visited the Tokyo shrine in April.
The Shinto shrine, widely viewed as a symbol of Japan's wartime militarism, honors the nation's 2.5 million war dead, as well as 14 Class-A war criminals.
Visits to the shrine by prime ministers have repeatedly sparked protests in neighboring parts of Asia that suffered under Japan's military aggression and rule before and during the war.
Meanwhile, trade minister Takeo Hiranuma said he will visit Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15.