Japanese Defense Minister Koizumi to Skip Seoul Security Forum After Yasukuni Shrine Visit

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is expected to skip an annual security forum in Seoul early next week, sources familiar with the matter said Friday, a move seen as related to his recent visit to a controversial war shrine in Tokyo that drew criticism from Seoul.

Koizumi will not attend the Seoul Defense Dialogue, set for Monday through Wednesday, multiple sources told Yonhap News Agency.

A vice defense minister from Tokyo will be present in his place, Seoul's defense ministry said.

Koizumi had been widely expected to attend next week's forum, given the brisk high-level defense diplomacy between the two neighbors amid a warming of bilateral relations. His predecessor, Gen Kanatani, attended last year's SDD.

While the exact reason for his absence remains unclear, Koizumi's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine last month may have affected the decision.

Koizumi was among a group of Japanese lawmakers who visited the shrine on the anniversary of the end of World War II on Aug. 15.

The Yasukuni Shrine honors Japanese war dead, including 14 Class A criminals convicted in international tribunals for their roles in World War II. Visits to the site by the Japanese leadership have long been denounced by neighboring countries that view such actions as glorifying its militaristic past.

Had Koizumi attended next week's forum, he and Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back would have held their fourth bilateral talks in just over two months.

Koizumi and Ahn already met three times this year, including during a Singapore security forum in May and Koizumi's reciprocal visit to Seoul in late June following Ahn's trip to Japan in January. (Yonhap)