The leader of Japan's main opposition party warned Monday of the dangers of politicians appealing to nationalism to boost their popularity, and vowed not to visit a controversial shrine honouring war criminals if he took power.

With the 60th anniversary of Japan's August 15, 1945 surrender in World War II only two weeks away, domestic debate over how to view Japan's wartime past is heating up.

Speculation is also mounting over when Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will make his annual visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, where war criminals convicted by a 1948 Allied tribunal are honoured along with Japan's 2.5 million war dead.

Koizumi has so far avoided visiting Yasukuni on the emotive August 15 date, but his pilgrimages to Yasukuni have nonetheless chilled ties with China and the Republic of Korea (ROK), where memories of Japan's military aggression and colonial rule run deep.

Charging Koizumi's foreign policy was stalemated on all fronts, Democratic Party leader Katsuya Okada urged frank discussions based on trust to resolve strains in the region.

"If a country's administration or politicians seek to boost their popularity by criticizing other countries or... stimulating their own people's nationalism, I think it is very unfortunate for that country," Okada told a news conference at which he proposed a more Asia-centric foreign policy.

"I see glimpses of that in the current political situation, and we must by all means prevent that from happening."

Okada said Koizumi's failure to build relations of trust with neighbouring countries had fuelled their opposition to Tokyo's bid for a permanent seat on the United Nation's Security Council (UNSC), a campaign that increasingly looks in trouble. "The situation is very difficult now," he said. "That's one result of the failure of Koizumi's foreign policy."

Differing views on war

Okada reiterated that he would not pay his respects at Yasukuni if he became Japan's top leader, a possibility analysts say cannot be dismissed if an early election is called as a result of a split in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) over legislation to privatize the postal system.

"Koizumi's view of the war is different from mine, so I think I should avoid going there as prime minister," he said.

Fourteen Class-A war criminals, including wartime Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, are "honoured" at Yasukuni. Critics see the shrine as a symbol of efforts to whitewash Japan's wartime past.

Recent opinion polls show a majority of voters think Koizumi should stop going to Yasukuni.

LDP members who oppose the prime minister's Yasukuni visits have formed a "study group" to pressure him not to go.

Koizumi, the longest-serving Japanese premier in two decades, saw his political fortunes slip last month when his cherished plan to privatize the post office passed the 480-member lower house by a mere five votes majority.

Source: China Daily