Shinzo Abe, frontrunner to replace Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, made a pilgrimage earlier this year to a Tokyo war shrine seen by critics as a symbol of Japan's militaristic past, media reports said.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe speaks at the Tokyo-Beijing Forum sponsored by China Daily, Peking University and the Japanese think tank Genron NPO in Tokyo August 3, 2006. [chinadaily.com.cn]

Abe, now chief cabinet secretary, visited Yasukuni Shrine in April, Kyodo news agency and other media reported on Friday.

Abe has backed Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni, which have angered China and South Korea, but has not said whether he would do the same if he succeeded Koizumi, who steps down in September.

Tokyo's ties with Beijing and Seoul have chilled since Koizumi took office in 2001 and began visiting the shrine, where World War Two leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal are honoured along with Japan's 2.5 million war dead.

So far, Koizumi has avoided going to the shrine on August 15, the emotive anniversary of Japan's defeat in the war, but speculation is rife that he will do so this year.

Koizumi has said he will step down in September as leader of his Liberal Democratic Party, and therefore as prime minister.

Abe routinely leads public opinion polls as his likely and preferred successor.