Junichiro Koizumi avoided discussing his controversial visit to Yasukuni Shrine during talks with top officials in Beijing in 2001 when he was prime minister, according to recently disclosed government documents.

The documents on the Oct. 8, 2001, meetings, which the Foreign Ministry recently released, show that then Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji both explained to Koizumi in their respective meetings that his visit to the shrine, which honors the war dead along with convicted war criminals, could hinder ties between the two countries.

"The top government leader's visit to the shrine can seriously complicate matters," said Jiang, while Zhu said the relationship between Japan and Asia, including China, "will not be improved fundamentally" if Koizumi did not take the issue seriously.

Koizumi did not respond to the remarks but said during the meetings that he felt genuinely apologetic toward Chinese people who were victimized by the war, an attitude some experts say may have led the Chinese officials to believe he would not visit the shrine again after his first visit on Aug. 13, 2001.

"He should have carefully explained what he intended when he visited Yasukuni, but he kept it ambiguous," said Akio Takahara, a professor of modern Chinese politics at the University of Tokyo. "I think the Chinese side got the impression through the meetings that he would never visit Yasukuni again, and that was a big misunderstanding."

Koizumi, who took office in April 2001, visited the shrine again in April 2002 and made further annual visits through 2006, sparking anger every time from neighboring countries, which see the shrine as a symbol of Japan's militarist past.

Kyodo News requested the disclosure of the documents under the Access to Government Information Act.