BEIJING, Oct. 17(Xinhuanet)-- The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Monday to condemn Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, a place where World War II criminals were honored.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing urgently summoned Japanese Ambassador to China Koreshige Anami and seriously read the statement, expressing strong condemnation for Koizumi's visit.

Regardless the strong opposition from China and other Asian countries and their peoples, Koizumi again visited Yasukuni Shrine, the statement said.

Such a move"randomly hurt the feeling and dignity" of the countries and their peoples falling victim during the WWII and"seriously undermined Sino-Japanese relations", it said.

The Chinese government and people expressed strong indignation over Koizumi's wrongdoing and lodged a strong protest to the Japanese side, it said.

China and Japan are neighbors and they should co-exist in peace and friendship and seek for a common development, which constitutes an important revelation shown by the positive and negative aspects of the history of bilateral relations and is where the common aspiration and the greatest common interests of the two peoples rest, the statement said.

In recent years, the Chinese government and leaders, taking into consideration of the general situation of safeguarding Sino-Japanese relations and peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and world at large, have repeatedly made clear to the Japanese side the righteousness and consequences with the hope that Prime Minister Koizumi will wake up to his errors, consider the situation as a whole and not insist on having his own way, it said.

"All of these have fully revealed the political will and sincerity of the Chinese government and people who attach importance to Sino-Japanese relations," it stressed.

However, the document said, the Chinese side's sincerity and efforts did not win due responses, while right on the contrary, Prime Minister Koizumi, regardless of the achievements made by many ancestors and personages of insight from both countries in the past years for bilateral friendship, obstinately sticks to a wrong and dangerous course,"which cannot but outrage us," it said.

"Prime Minister Koizumi must shoulder all responsibilities for the severe political consequences resulting from his wrongdoing," it said.

"The will of the people cannot be insulted," the statement quoted a Chinese saying, adding that"anybody that goes against the trend of the times will let down both ancestors and descendants, and will finally'lift a rock only to drop it on his own toes', it said.

Also on Monday, Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wang Yi lodged a strong protest to Japanese Foreign Minister Machimura Nobutaka for Koizumi's visit."Koizumi must shoulder the historic responsibility for undermining Sino-Japanese relations," Wang said.

Koizumi visited Yasukuni Shrine, where 14 WWII war criminals were enshrined, Monday morning. The visit was the fifth since he took office in 2001.

Koizumi's previous visits triggered waves of protest from Japan's neighboring countries, especially China and the Republic of Korea, making the issue the major barrier for developing relations between Japan and the two countries. Enditem