Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Harada Shikahito that Koizumi's visit to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine could damage political ties, the Xinhua news agency reported.

"The visit not only goes against Koizumi's own promise to exercise introspection when dealing with the history of aggression," Wang said according to the agency. "It also further undermines the political basis of Sino-Japanese ties."

The Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo is dedicated to lives lost in Japanese military campaigns -- including 14 World War II convicted war criminals.

Wang said the visit, taking place "regardless of the opposition of the peoples of China and Asia," had triggered China's "righteous indignation," according to Xinhua.

"We strongly condemn this behavior, which has hurt the feelings of the people of a war-ravaged country," he said.

He said the Chinese people could "absolutely not accept" the Japanese premier's behavior, calling it a "betrayal of good faith."

China sees itself as the main victim of Japanese imperialism in the first half of the 20th century.

Large parts of the country were occupied by Japanese soldiers before and during World War II, leading to estimated 35 million deaths, the majority civilians.

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