Japan FM wants friendly ties with China
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-12-28 20:16

YASUKUNI, LDP ELECTION

Asked whether he would visit Yasukuni during Japan's New Year's holidays from January 1-3, Koizumi stopped short of giving a direct answer but seemed to play down the possibility.

"Please everyone, take time and rest over the New Year. Work starts on the fourth," he said, adding that he had a news conference and a visit to Ise shrine, a separate Shinto shrine, planned on that day.

Koizumi, who says his annual visits to Yasukuni are intended to pay respects to the war dead and to pray for peace, visited Yasukuni on New Year's Day in 2004.

Besides Japan's ties with China and South Korea, another focal point in 2006 is the question of who will emerge as successor to Koizumi.

Koizumi has said he does not intend to stay on as prime minister when his term as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) expires next September.

"I think a person who will take over the reform path that I have pushed forward up to now would be desirable," said Koizumi, without mentioning any specific names.

A public opinion poll published on Tuesday showed that Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, known for his tough stance toward China and North Korea, has a huge lead over other contenders to become Japan's next prime minister.

Forty-three percent of respondents to a poll by the Nihon Keizai newspaper said Abe was the "most suitable" to become next prime minister.