The Chinese people felt "deeply indignant" over Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, a place where World War II criminals were honored, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Beijing Tuesday.

"Prime Minister Koizumi's visit is a grave incident", said spokesman Kong Quan at a regular press conference.

China's stance on the Yasukuni Shrine is "very clear," that is, China firmly opposes Japanese leaders visiting the shrine "at any time or in any form," he said.

"Prime Minister Koizumi cannot change the nature of his visit no matter what manner he takes," Kong said, adding it is only natural that China had a strong reaction to the issue.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing urgently summoned the Japanese Ambassador to China Koreshige Anami on Monday and read a statement of the ministry condemning Koizumi's visit to the shrine.

Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wang Yi also lodged a strong protest with Japanese Foreign Minister Machimura Nobutaka on Monday.

Kong said the Chinese government values Sino-Japanese ties, and has made "tremendous efforts" in developing bilateral relations.

"Japanese militarism hurt the Chinese people most in modern history. In order to promote long-term friendship between China and Japan, the two countries should follow the spirit of taking history as a mirror and looking up to the future," he said.

"Although Japanese leaders had made promise on the issue, Koizumi's visit betrayed his words to the people of China and the other parts of Asia as well as people around the world who love peace," Kong said.

"Such wrongdoing will certainly bring severe consequences," he added.

A leading official of the ministry's Asian Affairs Department on Tuesday asummoned a minister from the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, notifying him the decision to postpone Japanese foreign minister's visit to China, which is originally due from Oct. 23-24.

A ministry press release ascribed the postponement to the "current stark situation," saying the Japanese foreign minister's China visit "is not at an inappropriate time and it is inconvenient for the Chinese side to receive him."

Prime Minister Koizumi visited the Tokyo-based Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's war dead and includes a museum that rationalizes Japan's WWII behavior, Monday morning. It was his fifth visit to the Yasukuni Shrine since he became prime minister in April 2001.

Prime Minister Koizumi's previous visits triggered waves of protest from Japan's neighboring countries, especially from China and the Republic of Korea, creating a deep rift between Japan and the two countries.

Source: Xinhua