Foreign Minister Taro Aso

Aso, who recently angered Beijing by calling China a threat, said the communist government's opposition to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's shrine visits only increased one's desire to go.

"It's just like when you're told, 'Don't smoke cigarettes,' " Kyodo News on Jan. 28 quoted Aso as saying. "It actually makes you want to smoke. It's best (for China) to keep quiet."

He also said he hoped Emperor Akihito would visit the shrine.

"The war dead shouted 'Banzai!' for the emperor, not the prime minister," Kyodo quoted Aso as saying. "A visit by the Emperor would be best."

The last emperor to visit Yasukuni was Akihito's father, Hirohito, in November 1975, Kyodo said.

The Japan Times Weekly: Feb. 4, 2006
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