Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told U.S. President George W. Bush in November he would not stop visiting Yasukuni Shrine even at the request of the United States, sources familiar with bilateral relations said Saturday.
"I will never stop (visiting the shrine), even if asked by the United States not to," Koizumi was quoted as telling Bush during their Nov. 16 summit in Kyoto. Bush is Koizumi's closest ally on the international stage.
The sources said Koizumi made the remarks after Bush asked him about his middle- and long-term view on China.
The U.S. has recently become more concerned about Japan-China ties, which remain strained due mainly to Koizumi's repeated visits to the Shinto shrine.
China and other Asian countries say Yasukuni, where convicted Class-A war criminals are honored together with the war dead, glorifies Japan's militaristic past.
Koizumi has visited the shrine annually since taking office in 2001.
Bush made no direct reference to Japan-China disputes over Koizumi's Yasukuni visits, but Koizumi began talking about them, blasting China for criticizing him for going there, according to the sources.
The shrine visits should be "a matter of heart" with which people in other countries should not interfere, they quoted him as saying.
Koizumi was also quoted as saying he found it hard to understand why Beijing continues to criticize the visits.
The conversation was not recognized as a formal summit topic as Bush did not ask Koizumi to elaborate, the sources said.