Secretaries general of Japan's two ruling parties on Sunday indicated their support for establishing a nonreligious national memorial for the war dead.  

In a TV Asahi talk show, New Komeito Party Secretary-General Tetsuzo Fuyushiba suggested the government allocate research expenses for its construction, and his Liberal Democratic Party counterpart Tsutomu Takebe replied, "That's a good idea."

Their comments were made the day before a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun on Monday in Seoul, at which Roh is expected to urge Koizumi to consider a national memorial rather than visiting the war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

An advisory panel to the then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda proposed in 2002 setting up a secular national war memorial to enable any person to commemorate the war dead.

Support for the idea is growing in Japan's ruling parties in light of worsening relations with China and South Korea because of Koizumi's Yasukuni Shrine visits and other issues.

But Koizumi on Friday rejected the suggestion, saying "I think it may be all right to consider setting up a facility at which people can mourn without feeling uncomfortable, but no facility will substitute for Yasukuni Shrine."

Koizumi has visited the notorious Shinto shrine, which honors 14 Class-A war criminals responsible for Japan's aggression war against its Asian neighbors, once a year since taking office in April 2001.

Last month, the premier indicated a plan at a parliament meeting to again visit the shrine sometime this year.

(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2005)