Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may visit the Yasukuni Shrine for war dead between August 13 and 16, including the emotive August 15 anniversary of the end of World War Two, Kyodo News reported on Sunday, citing government sources.

The Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo in a 2005 file photo. [Reuters]

A pilgrimage to the Shinto shrine, where Japanese World War Two leaders convicted as war criminals are honoured along with the country's 2.5 million war dead, would be likely to further chill already tense ties with China and South Korea. They see the shrine as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

Koizumi, who is due to step down in September, has visited the shrine once every year since he took office in April 2001.

Earlier in the day, Koizumi defended his annual visits to Yasukuni to reporters in Hiroshima, where he joined a ceremony held to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the first atomic bombing.

"I do not think it is wrong for a Japanese prime minister to visit Japan's facility and express condolences for the war dead," he said.

He reiterated that his visits were to pray for peace and that Japan should never go to war again.

Kyodo quoted the government sources as saying that Koizumi would make a final decision on when to visit the shrine after taking into consideration the possible impact of a visit on Japan's relations with China and South Korea as well as on the September 20 leadership election in his governing Liberal Democratic Party.