On Aug. 15, the 61st anniversary of the end of World War II -- the day when Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid homage to the war dead at Yasukuni Shrine -- the house of the mother of former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Koichi Kato burned down. The veteran politician is a known critic of Mr. Koizumi's repeated visits to Japan's war shrine.
A rightist group member, with severe abdominal wounds and burns to his face, was found on the premises of the gutted house in Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture. He was not wearing shoes. A knife with a 26-cm blade and two kerosene cans were discovered amid the debris.
This man apparently set fire to the house, tried to kill himself in hara-kiri fashion, then came out of the house when it got too hot. It would not be far-fetched to regard his act as retaliation against Mr. Kato for his criticism of Mr. Koizumi's Yasukuni visits -- a form of terrorism to silence people who harbor different opinions.