Q: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi recently said he does not feel uncomfortable with visiting the Yasukuni Shrine that honors the convicted Class-A criminals.  He will not change his mind even though foreign countries asked him to do this or that.  Other countries must understand this point. What is your comment?

A: The Yasukuni Shrine honors Class-A World War II criminals who had committed grave atrocities towards the people of China and other neighboring Asian countries.  China firmly opposes visits to the shrine by Japanese leaders. China expresses its dissatisfaction and regret at Japanese leader's above-mentioned comments that ignores the legitimate calls of the people of the victimized countries.