Koizumi's Yasukuni Visits Purely Political

After he has spoken of the deep spiritual reasons for his Yasukuni visits, it looks like it was pure poppycock.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata once said, while he was heading the "association of parliament members visiting the Yasukuni Shrine", Koizumi never visited the shrine. But why did he suddenly become the 'fan' of the shrine after he became the Prime Minister?

Former Chief Cabinet Secretary and Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party hit the mark with a single comment ¨C promising to visit the Yasukuni Shrine on August 15 each year was a 'tactic' used by Koizumi to compete with Hashimoto for votes to become the President of the Liberal Democratic Party.

This guy just keeps getting better and better.