Japan today marked the 56th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima in World War II, as Prime Minister Mr Junichiro Koizumi hedged over a controversial plan to visit a Tokyo war shrine.
After attending the Hiroshima ceremony, Koizumi told reporters he had not yet decided whether to visit the Yasukuni shrine on August 15th, the 56th anniversary of Japan's surrender to the US-led allied forces.
The Shinto shrine in Tokyo is dedicated to those who died in a century of conflicts, including more than 1,000 former Japanese political leaders and soldiers convicted as war criminals by the Allies.
"I have been listening to opinions from various people," he told a press conference.
"They are divided into the pros and cons. I am still carefully considering the issue without any bias. I want to ask you to give me more time," he told reporters.
Top Liberal Democratic Party officials have admitted the visit would sour relations with China, South Korea and other Asian countries invaded by Japan.
China as well as North and South Korea have strongly denounced Koizumi's expected visit, which they argue would amount to justification of Japan's military past.
At the Hiroshima ceremony, mayor Mr Tadatoshi Akiba renewed an appeal for a nuclear-free world.
"Even though the calendar has changed from the century of the war, a century of peace and humanity would not automatically be achieved," he said.
"Through sophisticated technologies, battlefields are being extended into space...not just regional disputes and civil unrest," he said.
"World leaders must humbly observe this reality. And they must have a strong will to abolish nuclear weapons...and have courage to seriously consider humanity and peaceful resolutions," he said.
AFP