Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Friday he thinks visiting Yasukuni Shrine should not be an issue in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race this fall, echoing remarks by the prime minister and the top government spokesman.

"Not once have I thought (Yasukuni) should be a point of contention," Aso said when asked during a news conference his thoughts on making the contentious shrine an issue in the LDP leadership race.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's annual visits to the Tokyo shrine, his latest on Oct. 17, have riled other parts of Asia, particularly China and South Korea, because the shrine, which honors Japan's war dead, also honors Class-A war criminals.

Koizumi has defended his trips to the Shinto shrine and has criticized China and South Korea for cutting off dialogue with Japan due to the dispute.

The topic is "a matter of the heart," Koizumi said Wednesday.

The prime minister has said repeatedly he visits the shrine to pledge that Japan will never wage war again and to pay tribute to the war dead.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, seen as a possible successor to Koizumi along with Aso, said Tuesday: "Discussing (Yasukuni) as a topic in the party presidential election will make the issue become an even bigger problem diplomatically and politically. It is better not to do this."

Former LDP Vice President Taku Yamasaki, who has also shown interest in becoming the next leader of the LDP, said the matter should be discussed in the leadup to the September leadership election.