The White House declined to take sides on Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's 15 August visit to the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, describing it as an internal Japanese matter outside American purview.
Spokeswoman Dana Perino acknowledged the region's deep historical complexities and expressed hope that Japan and its neighbors would resolve tensions through dialogue and cooperation.
China and South Korea reacted sharply, summoning Japanese ambassadors to lodge formal protests. Koizumi dismissed their objections as "immature."
The Yasukuni shrine honors approximately 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including 14 senior war criminals from World War II, and carried strong symbolic weight during Japan's wartime militarist era. Koizumi had visited the shrine annually since taking office in 2001, but 15 August marked his first visit on the anniversary of Emperor Hirohito's 1945 surrender, making him the first prime minister in 21 years to appear there on that date.
Koizumi, who is set to leave office next month after five years as prime minister, made the visit as veterans and nationalist groups gathered at the site.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in August 2006, in its own words.