Japanese Prime Minister's visits to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine sends a wrong message to those who wish to revive militarism, Ra Jong-yil, the South Korean ambassador to Japan said on Wednesday in Tokyo.

According to the website of Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, Ra refuted the Japanese premier's explanation that the visits to the Yasukuni Shrine is "a personal matter". "The explanation is not convincing," said the ambassador at a speech in Aoyama Gakuin University.

Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has visited the Shinto shrine for five times since taking office in April 2001, drawing indignation and protests from Asian countries, including China and South Korea, that suffered from Japan's atrocity in its aggressive war.

Source: Xinhua