The front-runner to be Japan's next prime minister on Friday defended visits to a war shrine criticized in Asia as glorifying militarism, but refused to confirm reports he made a pilgrimage there earlier this year.

Shinzo Abe (2nd L), Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary and front-runner to become Japan's next prime minister, is led by a Shinto priest as he visits the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo to pay tribute to the war dead in this August 15, 2005 file photo. Abe made a secret pilgrimage earlier this year to the Tokyo war shrine seen by China and South Korea as a symbol of Japan's past militarism, media reports said on 4 August, 2006. [Reuters]

Japanese media widely reported Friday that Shinzo Abe, currently chief Cabinet secretary, visited Yasukuni Shrine in April to pray for the country's war dead, whom are honored there along with executed World War II war criminals.

Abe insisted such visits are a matter of individual conviction and said he intends to "continue holding my hands together" for the souls of the dead, implying that he could make further visits.

The apparent visit and Abe's comments signaled further possible friction between Japan and its neighbors should he become prime minister.

China and South Korea suffered heavily under Japanese military conquests in the first half of the 20th century, and they have harshly protested Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's five pilgrimages to the shrine since taking office in 2001.

Koizumi steps down in September, and Abe is the leading candidate to succeed him. Abe on Friday refused to confirm his reported visit and reiterated his stance that he is not obligated to say whether he would go again.

"Since the issue is turning into a diplomatic and political problem, I have said from before that I will not say whether I will go in the future or whether I have paid a visit in the past," Abe told reporters in Tokyo.

It was unclear how the visit would influence Abe's campaign to become prime minister.

Koizumi has remained popular with the public and within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party despite the visits. Still, many in Japan are concerned about the sharp deterioration in relations with China and South Korea, and support a halt to the pilgrimages.

The South Korean Embassy in Tokyo quickly criticized the reported visit.

"We cannot help but feel despair and regret that the present chief Cabinet secretary paid his respects at Yasukuni Shrine, which also honors Class A War criminals," the statement said.

The visit also drew criticism from the leader of the New Komei Party, the junior partner in the ruling coalition led by Abe's LDP. Takenori Kanzaki said he's worried about the impact on relations with China.

"Since I have requested repeatedly that the prime minister and Cabinet secretary refrain from paying a visit to the shrine, Abe's visit is extremely regrettable," Kanzaki said.

Abe went to Yasukuni around the time of the shrine's three-day spring rites that began April 21, local newspapers reported, citing unidentified officials. Kyodo News agency said Abe visited on April 15.

While Abe did not use his official car for the visit, he signed Yasukuni's guest book as "Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe" and offered flowers with his own money, Kyodo said. It was Abe's first visit since taking the secretary post last October.

Koizumi's visits have spawned several lawsuits claiming they violated the constitutional division of state and religion. The Supreme Court recently rejected such a suit, but did not rule specifically on the constitutionality of the visits.

On Friday, Abe defended visits to the shrine by public officials as long as they were made in a private capacity. Pilgrimages made as public officials were also acceptable if they are made to pray for the country's war dead, he said.

Critics of Yasukuni have focused attention on the inclusion of 14 convicted war criminals among the 2.5 million Japanese war dead. The shrine grounds also hosts a museum that attempts to justify Japan's past imperial conquests in Asia.

Word of Abe's visit came a day after he called for efforts by Japan and China to better understand each other's position on the shrine.

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, who was the first to announce he would run to succeed Koizumi, has said he will not visit Yasukuni if he becomes prime minister.

On Friday, Tanigaki said the shrine issue is basically a domestic issue, but that government officials should consider the country's interests when deciding whether to pray at Yasukuni.