U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer says Japan's neighboring countries should let Tokyo decide how to resolve the controversy surrounding the Yasukuni war shrine.

In a luncheon meeting in Tokyo Wednesday, he also said Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Foreign Minister Taro Aso are not likely to embrace radical or right-wing ideas.

Schieffer said he believes Japan will find a way to honor its war victims without inheriting the spirit of militarism.

He urged initiatives to remember those who died for Japan while also recognizing that that cause that they fought for in World War II was unjust.

[Photo : ]