Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi indicated Monday he will visit Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine again this year despite Asian countries' protests against his visits to the notorious shrine, which honors 14 Class-A war criminals responsible for Japan's aggression before and during the World War II.

"I don't understand why I should stop visiting Yasukuni Shrine," Koizumi was quoted by Kyodo News as saying at a House of Representatives Budget Committee session. "I will decide appropriately when to go."

Koizumi made the remarks in response to a call by opposition Democratic Party lawmaker Yoshito Sengoku for the premier to stop the visits due to opposition from China and South Korea. The lawmaker criticized the prime minister's visits as putting Japan's foreign relations at risk.

Koizumi reiterated that he sees no problem with the visits, saying "I'm not paying my respect to individuals."

The prime minister also brushed aside views that his diplomacy is mostly deadlocked, saying, "Japan's diplomacy has not been deadlocked nor isolated. It's going fine."

Koizumi has paid four visits to the shrine since he took office in 2001, with the latest one on New Year's Day in 2004.

(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2005)