Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Yuichiro Hata said on Friday that he will visit Yasukuni Shrine on August 15th, the 67th anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender.

Hata made the remarks at a press conference early Friday and said he would not visit the shrine as a cabinet minister but only as himself.

Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura also told a press conference Friday that Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his cabinet members would not officially visit the shrine on August 15.

The Yasukuni Shrine, which honors some 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including 14 major war criminals, is seen as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.