Koizumi visits war shrine

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the Yasukuni shrine Monday, seen by many as a symbol of Japan's past militarism, in a move certain to outrage China and South Korea. The visit threatens to derail progress made by Shotaro Yachi and Dai Bingguo, vice foreign ministers of Japan and China respectively, at talks in Beijing also due to conclude Monday. Topics under discussion included the disputed ownership of oil and gas fields in the North China Sea and UN reform, China having opposed a proposal to give Japan a permanent seat on the Security Council. Mr Koizumi insists he makes the yearly visits to the shrine, which honors 14 Class-A war criminals along with war dead, in a private capacity and not as prime minister.