(15 Aug 2000) Japanese/Nat
NB - AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING
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Throughout most of the year, Tokyo's Peaceful Country Shrine remains true to its name.
It's a quiet, wooded sanctuary that offers respite from the crowds and concrete of Japan's bustling capital.
But every summer, this shrine honouring Japan's war dead - including World War Two leaders - becomes a battlefield.
The lines are drawn between those who claim it symbolises the desire to placate the souls of fallen soldiers and those who see it as proof of the country's refusal to own up to its brutal past.
As Japan observed the 55th anniversary of its World War Two surrender on Tuesday, the confrontation raged once more.
To mark the anniversary, nearly a dozen members of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's Cabinet, Tokyo's governor and scores of conservative lawmakers visited the Yasukuni Shrine.
They all bowed before it's altar to offer their prayers.
In either public or private capacities, Japanese politicians have made similar trips for decades to Yasukuni, where the names, dates and place of death in battle for two and a half (m) million war dead are preserved in record books dating back to the late 19th century.
Tokyo's Governor Shintaro Ishihara also visited the shrine on Tuesday.
He became the first Tokyo governor to make an official visit since the Tokyo metropolitan government started recording such visits in 1967.
But each visit is met with a barrage of criticism because among those enshrined are Prime Minister Hideki Tojo and six other World War Two war criminals.
When he left the shrine, Ishihara was applauded by the waiting crowd.
When asked by journalists in what capacity he was visiting the shrine, Ishihara said he was there in his public capacity and that it was a "matter of course" for him to visit the memorial.
As the governor left, journalists wanted him to explain further his "official capacity", but the pro-Ishihara crowd became angry with the media for asking any more questions.
Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who has frequently come under fire for his hawkish statements since assuming office in June, chose to stay away from the shrine on Tuesday.
SOUNDBITE: (Japanese)
"All the spirits at this shrine should be respected because they died for this country. So I think it's important that the politicians come to pay their respects, since they are official figures."
SUPER CAPTION: Voxpop
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