Tetsuzo Fuyushiba, secretary general of the New Komeito party, a member of the ruling coalition, said Saturday he expects Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to cancel his plan to visit Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine on the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II on Wednesday.
In a telephone interview for a radio program, Fuyushiba said, "The prime minister will not visit the shrine. The secretaries general of the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Conservative Party -- Taku Yamasaki and Takeshi Noda -- share that view."
The New Komeito and the NCP are part of the ruling coalition with Koizumi's LDP.