Mr. Prime Minister...

I just heard the news that Koizumi visited Yasukuni Shrine. Right-leaning people tend to support Koizumi on this point and argue that China and North and South Koreas have been interfering Japan's sovereignty by telling the prime minister not to visit the Shrine.

But I think Koizumi's "determination" is wrong-headed. If he really means to show that Japan--in his own image--is not ready to back down from pressures from other countries, why doesn't he impose economic sanctions on North Korea, which could make them take more seriously the so-called abduction problem, rather than visit the Shrine to complicate Japan's diplomatic relations with China and Korea? Does Koizumi really think about Japan's long-term national interests?