The leader of New Komeito, the ruling coalition partner of the Liberal Democratic Party, called Saturday on the foreign minister and chief Cabinet secretary -- as well as the prime minister -- to refrain from visiting Yasukuni Shrine out of diplomatic concerns.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Takenori Kanzaki, whose party is backed by Soka Gakkai, the nation's largest lay Buddhist group, also reiterated his call for the government to build a secular memorial for the war dead and said he plans to request construction survey expenses in next fiscal year's budget.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Concerned that visits to the Shinto shrine will further damage relations with China and South Korea, Kanzaki said at a Komeito gathering, 'The prime minister, foreign minister and chief Cabinet secretary, who are in the core positions of the administration, should voluntarily refrain from visiting –

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Visits by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and other leading politicians to Yasukuni, which enshrines 14 convicted World War II Class-A criminals along with Japan's war dead, have repeatedly sparked strong protests from China, South Korea and other Asian countries that see the shrine as a symbol of Japan's militaristic past.