Twenty-four Chinese guilds and associations held a peaceful demonstration at the Japanese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to protest the recent visit of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to the controversial Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo.

The 30-odd representatives gathered in front of the embassy' gates at Jalan Ampang at about 11am bearing banners and placards condemning Koizumi's visit.

The banners read, among others, 'Shame on Koizumi' and 'A false reflection'. The protestors dispersed about 30 minutes later under the watchful eyes of about 20 policemen.

The group's spokesman, Ong Feng Khek, told reporters that the fifth visit of Koizumi to the war shrine had hurt the feelings of the people in countries which were occupied by Japan during World War II.

He also condemned Koizumi's approval of Japanese history textbooks which are seen as distorting World War II history in relation to Japan's war time aggression.

The Yasukuni war shrine is seen by several Asian countries as a symbol of the country's World War II militarism. Yasukuni honours Japan's 2.5 million war dead, including 14 convicted as criminals by a 1948 war tribunal.

Pray for peace

China and South Korea had protested angrily following Koizumi's visit to the war shrine on Monday. China has postponed the visit of Japan foreign minister while South Korea's foreign minister cancelled his visit to Japan.

Koizumi has repeatedly said his visits to the shrine are to pray for peace and to honour the dead, not to glorify militarism.

While it is the prime minister's fifth visit to the war shrine since taking office in 2001, it is his first after his overwhelming victory in the country's national election last month.