Japanese FM wants secular, state-run war shrine
"What we need to do is to put the Yasukuni shrine as far away as possible from politics to keep it as a tranquil place for prayer," said Aso, who is usually known as a conservative hawk.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who steps down next month, has gone each year to Yasukuni shrine and speculation is rife he will visit a final time on August 15, the sensitive anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender.
The shrine honors 2.5 million war dead including 14 top criminals from World War II.
Koizumi's pilgrimage has infuriated China and South Korea, which hold bitter memories of Japanese occupation.
Japanese pacifists and religious minorities have also filed a string of lawsuits alleging Koizumi violated the constitutional separation of religion and state.
Aso called for Yasukuni shrine, which was built in 1869 as the country Westernized and installed Shinto as its state religion, to voluntarily turn into a government-affiliated institution.
"The fact that the Yasukuni shrine is a religious institution prevents it from being a calm environment as the issue arises of the separation of state and religion," said Aso, who comes from a prominent Christian political family.
Aso, who is related by marriage to the imperial family, voiced hope that the emperor would be able to go to the shrine.
Documents made public last month showed that wartime emperor Hirohito stopped going to Yasukuni because it honored war criminals. His son, Emperor Akihito, has never gone since assuming the Chrysanthemum Throne in 1989. "Tens of thousands of soldiers died crying, 'Long live the emperor,' remembering their hometowns and families," Aso said.
"Therefore I strongly hope the emperor can visit Yasukuni shrine."
Aso trails far behind Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, a strong supporter of the shrine, in the race for the premiership. The Liberal Democratic Party will choose Koizumi's successor in an internal vote on September 20.