Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday, "as a private citizen," he has presented a paper lantern for the summer ritual of the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, which began on the same day.  

The lantern carrying Koizumi's full name is displayed along with roughly 29,000 lanterns at the Tokyo-based Shinto shrine.

"I have presented it every year since long before I became prime minister," Koizumi told reporters at his office.

China and South Korea among others have strongly protested Koizumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni, which honors 14 convicted Class-A war criminals of World War II who were responsible for Japan's aggression war against its Asian neighbors.

Koizumi has visited the shrine once a year since taking office in April 2001. The last time was on the New Year's Day of last year.

Asking if he would pay the shrine a visit in the near future, Koizumi said, "I have decided to just say that I will make a decision appropriately, no matter how many times I'm asked about that question."

The four-day annual ritual began in 1947 and is intended to console the spirits of the war dead enshrined at Yasukuni, according to the shrine's website.

(Xinhua News Agency July 14, 2005)