Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine has made discredited his fresh apology for Japan's aggressive war, a leader of the Japan-China Friendship Association said here Tuesday.

The Japanese prime minister visited the war criminal-related shrine on Monday despite constant opposition at home and abroad.

"We thought that Koizumi would not pay a new visit to the shrine since he apologized on Aug. 15 for the warfare waged by Japan. Nevertheless, Koizumi let us down only two months from then on by going to the shrine again," Kyuhei Muraoka, director general of the association told Xinhua.

He said the nature of the issue remained the same though Koizumi claimed that he was visiting the shrine in a private capacity.

"Koizumi has failed to materialize his speech," Muraoka noted.

Besieged with a slew of criticism, Koizumi defended his practice by describing it as a "matter of heart" which "should not be interfered by other countries."

"The argument is aimed at confusing the public opinion and will incite nationalism in Japan," he noted.

Muraoka pointed out that Koizumi's visit has further distanced Japan from China and South Korea, and would damage an opportunity to improve relations with the two countries, referring to a string of upcoming diplomatic events including the Koizumi-proposed East Asia Summit scheduled for December.

He said Koizumi had repeatedly stressed the importance of Japan-China relationship, yet fallen short of taking concrete actions. The fifth visit to the shrine which houses war criminals is bound to have a negative impact on the economic ties.

Muraoka emphasized that the Japan-China relationship is very important and their economies are interdependent.

However, the political relationship is going awry, which is a great concern of most Japanese and the business sectors, he said.

Despite the current difficulties, Muraoka was still optimistic about the future.

"The political relationship is in winter now, but the spring is certain to come. We are concerned about the current situation, but should not despair in the prospect, because most Japanese are anticipating that the bilateral ties will be looking up," he said.

He noted that a smooth relationship is a blessing for the people in both countries, yet a bad one undermines their fundamental interests.

"We hope that, someday, the Japanese prime minister will be able to deliver a speech in Nanjing to reflect on its aggression and win the trust of Asian countries with a concrete action," he said.

Source: Xinhua