Japanese lawmakers visit Yasukuni shrine

TOKYO, April 22 (UPI) -- Eight Japanese officials joined dozens of lawmakers for a visit Tuesday to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which commemorates both Japan's war dead and war criminals.

The officials who visited the shrine included a special adviser to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, two senior vice ministers and five parliamentary secretaries, Kyodo news service reported.

There were also 62 lawmakers on the visit to the shrine's annual spring festival. The parliament members are part of a supra-partisan group, which promotes visits to the shrine, the report said.

Japan's neighbors, including China, see the shrine as a symbol of Japan's past militarism and resent Japanese leaders visiting the shrine, the report said.

The shrine has been in the news again since the release of a documentary titled "Yasukuni," made by Li Ying, a Chinese resident of Japan, Kyodo said.

Yoshinobu Shimamura, a lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was quoted as saying his group does not plan to take action against the documentary, which many theaters have refused to show.