When Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made his sixth pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine, the last before he steps down as president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in September, the protests from other Asian nations and his countrymen fell on deaf ears.

In Tokyo Monday night, a group of Japanese, and people from the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Taiwan region, including bereaved families of the war dead, urged Koizumi to refrain from visiting the shrine, where war dead including 14 Class-A war criminals are interred.

When Koizumi's determination was clear, so too were the consequences.

He vowed to keep paying homage to Yasukuni during his term when he took office as prime minister in 2001. He has been true to his word even though it hurts his country's relations with its neighbors.

He worshipped the Japanese war dead at the shrine yesterday, the anniversary of Japan's official surrender in 1945. Koizumi dodged the day for his shrine pilgrimages over the past five years, seemingly aware of the sensitivity of the issue.

He chose to worship at Yasukuni in his official capacity yesterday, disregarding condemnations at home and abroad. He arrived at the shrine by limousine and signed the guestbook with his full name and official title.

His choice was desperate because his days of being prime minister are numbered. Refusing to own up to his country's aggressive past, he cares nothing about what a difficult situation he will leave for his successor.

He has been stubborn in stoking tensions by ignoring the concerns of his country's neighbors.

Our government reacted to Koizumi's shrine pilgrimage yesterday, saying it "hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and tainted Japan's image and national interest."

ROK Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon criticized Koizumi's shrine homage for showing no respect to the ROK Government and its people, "particularly on our independence day and the day of the end of World War II."

Mutual visits of top government leaders between China and Japan have been on hold due to Koizumi's annual calls at the shrine.

The cause of Japan's strained relations with its two neighbors China and the ROK was his pilgrimage to Yasukuni.

Determined to pay homage to Yasukuni every year, on August 15 this year, Koizumi showed that he does not value his country's relations with neighboring countries.

His justification for the shrine pilgrimage that the war criminals already took responsibility by receiving the death penalty cannot free Koizumi from condemnation.

While the 14 Class-A war criminals are part of the war dead at the Yasukuni, his worship there is reckless.

Turning a deaf ear to criticism from China and the ROK, Koizumi called the two countries "immature."

Yasukuni, which means "peaceful nation," is supposed to be a place to reflect on the sorrow of war. But clearly, the keepers of the shrine are more sensitive to Japan's suffering than the suffering Japan inflicted on others.

So is the outgoing Koizumi.

(China Daily August 16, 2006)