Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine on New Year's Day.  

Koizumi entered the shrine at around 11:30 am (0230 GMT), dressed in the traditional Japanese clothing. The worship lasted some 15 minutes. There were no other Japanese government officials accompanying the prime minister.

Huang Xingyuan, spokesman of the Chinese Embassy to Tokyo, expressed strong dissatisfaction over Koizumi's visit, urging the Japanese government to completely abide by the three key bilateral agreements and statements and to stop further activities harming the feeling of the Chinese people and Sino-Japanese relations.

This is Koizumi's fourth visit to the controversial shrine since he came to power in 2001.

The Yasukuni shrine honors 14 Class-A World War II criminals along with the 2.47 million Japanese war dead since the mid-19th century.

His previous visits to the shrine drew strong protests from Asian countries that had suffered from military invasions by the Japanese army.

(Xinhua News Agency January 1, 2004)