Japan not to rev up talks on secular war memorial despite China booing

Asian Political News, August 9, 2004

TOKYO, Aug. 5 Kyodo

Japan does not plan to speed up discussions for a proposed secular war memorial despite the recent jeering by Chinese soccer fans against the Japanese in the Asian Cup tournament in China, top government spokesman Hiroyuki Hosoda said Thursday.

''We don't take it an opportunity to do that. We would rather like to wait and see the public's opinions,'' Hosoda, the chief Cabinet secretary, said in a press conference when asked whether Tokyo would pursue such a memorial in an attempt to soothe the anti-Japanese sentiment in China.

Building a national secular memorial for the war dead was proposed in December 2002 by a government advisory panel as a means to help settle the controversy over top government officials visiting Shinto's Yasukuni Shrine, which is dedicated to Japan's war dead and also enshrines Class-A war criminals.

Since taking office in April 2001, Koizumi has visited the shrine once a year, saying he would continue to do so. The visits have been a sticking point blocking Koizumi's trip to China since President Hu Jintao was inaugurated in March 2003.

The Shinto shrine in Tokyo is viewed by critics as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

In the Asian Cup soccer tournament, Chinese fans booed the Japanese national anthem and expressed anti-Japanese sentiment in other forms at every match the Japanese have played so far.

The behavior is said to reflect lingering resentment toward Japan for its wartime aggression in China, but Beijing believes Japanese media outlets are also to blame by playing up the anti-Japanese behavior of some Chinese.

Ahead of the final between the two countries Saturday in Beijing, Japan urged China on Wednesday to ensure the safety of Japanese fans, who are expected to travel to see the match in larger numbers.