In history, some politicians are often more bent on acting willfully without taking consequences into account whenever they are moving increasingly closer to a dead end.

On August 15, Junichiro Koizumi donned in his suit paid homage to the Yasukuni Shrine and signed "Prime Miniser Juniochiro Koizumi", in open defiance of opposition to the shrine visit both in Japan and overseas. He paid the shrine visit at the time when a wave in opposition to the Yasukuni Shrine visit in Japan's various walks of life has been on steady rise for a period of time, 60 percent of the Japanese nationals negate their prime minister's shrine visit, and China, the Republic of Korea, and other Asian nations have clearly warned Koizumi not to do any more to undermine international relations.

This dull, stubborn and obstinate action of Koizumi's has once again told people that on the "political scales" of Koizumi, either the national interest of Japan and its people's well-beings, or the smooth growth of Japan's relations with its neighboring nations cannot match the political objective of Japan as a big power, and that he can challenge international justice and tread the innate knowledge of the humanity.

The prime minister's shrine pilgrimage still cannot win the support of the general public and political circles in Japan. Taro Kono, senior vice-minister of justice in the Koizumi cabinet, said openly that "Japan should think of appropriate comprise on the issue of Yasukuni Shrine. Prior to Koizumi's sixth visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, former Japanese Ambassador to China Koreshige Anami was reported to dissuade Koizumi from visiting the shrine in a letter last year. What merits attention is that General Korechika Anami, the former ambassador's father, assumed as the minister of army a couple of times during the years of war and later killed himself for protesting Japan's accepting of the Potsdam proclamation signed in July 1945. Korechika Anami was honored in the shrine posthumously.

The unrepentant performance of Koizumi, while leaving behind a political legacy, has also posed a knotty problem, since the visit to Yasukuni Shrine and improvement of its ties with neighboring nations, cannot be done in both ways. Whoever succeeds Koizumi cannot shun this sensitive topic, either following Koizumi's footsteps and continuously resort to various excuses to explain, or shift to substantial foreign policies to ease the country's relations with its neighbors. Obviously, the former practice will only deteriorate the issue, whereas the latter will show the new prime minister's forbearance and the sincerity of the new power to repair Japan's relations with its neighbors.

The Yasukuni Shrine visit has become a very thorny issue in Japan's domestic affairs and foreign policies, and its root cause lies in the strategic choice of Japan's hardliner politicians. Likewise, the crux of the matter in resolving this issue is whether or not Japanese statesmen can adopt their correct choice.

"Whoever starts the trouble should end it," as the Chinese saying goes. Requirements from the growth of Sino-Japanese ties and contacts between the people of Japan and the international community calls on Japanese statesmen to put an end to a passive situation created by Koizumi. It is of no use if one attempts to retain the outcome of Koizumi's hard line on one hand but is not ready to infuriate China and ROK on the other, or one wants to satisfy those who stand for restoring ties with China and ROK on one hand but rejects to lose their hawkish hues on the other.

If the Japanese statesman who replaces Koizumi will have enough courage and wisdom on the promoted basis of public opinions, the crux of the matter, which has haunted Japan's political arena and blocked for years the summit diplomacy of Chinese and Japanese leaders, can be resolved.

By People's Daily Online