"I am still very much puzzled about why people in foreign countries say it is no good that I convey my condolences to my own country's war dead," Koizumi said on the private Asahi network.

He made the remark when asked to comment on criticism by Chinese leaders of his visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honours the nations' 2.5 million war dead, including 14 Class-A war criminals.

Beijing has reacted angrily to previous visits by Koizumi and other Japanese officials to the shrine, which is widely seen as a symbol of Japan's former militarism.

While stressing Japan's relations with China were "very good" at the moment, Koizumi said he was not paying homage to particular war criminals or individuals, but to those who lose their lives in wars in general.

His visit is intended to "pledge we must not cause war again," he told the network in an interview aired Sunday.

"It sounds strange to Japanese people that they tell us not to go (to the shrine) because it honours some people they don't like," he said.

Koizumi argued every country has its own view of history and it was "impossible to match it with another's."

"We must respect each other's history and culture. A hero for one country is an enormous villain for another country," he said.

Some ruling-party lawmakers have proposed separating war criminals from the Yasukuni Shrine to avoid angering Asian neighbours who suffered under Japan's wartime aggression.

Koizumi has vowed to make a pilgrimage to the shrine every year since he took office in April 2001.

He visited on January 1 this year, sparking protests from China and South Korea.

The Japanese government has said it would study creating a new national war memorial where people could pay their respects to those who fell in combat without appearing to venerate the war criminals most closely associated with Japan's brutal military legacy.

Koizumi also said Japan would not take a militant path or take a military role in international conflict even if the nation revises its pacifist constitution.

Japan's diplomatic ties with China took another blow last week after Chinese activists landed on a disputed island, which lies between Taiwan and Japan in the East China Sea.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi held telephone talks with her Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing late Friday over Japan's decision to deport the seven Chinese activists who were arrested after landing on the islet.

"I heard from the minister yesterday that she had quite a harsh exchange of opinions (with Li)," Senior Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Ichiro Aisawa said during a debate on the private Fuji Television network.

Aisawa also said "the minister will strongly protest against the illegal landing" again when she visits China from Saturday.

He said Japan would enhance information gathering on moves by Chinese activists to prevent them from coming back to the uninhabited Senkaku islands, known as Diaoyu in China.

A group of Chinese protesters Sunday said it had postponed a trip to the island chain in view of increased tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

The islands are also claimed by Taiwan.

WAR.WIRE