May 16 (Bloomberg) -- Japan said Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi had no plans to speak before Congress when he visits the U.S. next month, dismissing a request from a U.S. lawmaker that Koizumi end visits to a Tokyo war memorial in exchange for an invitation.

Representative Henry Hyde, chairman of the U.S. House International Relations Committee, sent a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert in April asking that Koizumi promise to stop visiting Yasukuni Shrine if he is to address a joint session of Congress, the Asahi newspaper reported yesterday, citing a copy of the letter. Koizumi is scheduled to visit the U.S. in late June.

``Not only are there no plans for a Congressional speech, we've expressed no desire for one,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said today at a regular press conference. ``If there's a misunderstanding over the Prime Minister's Yasukuni visits, we must work to gain understanding.''

Koizumi has said he doesn't understand criticism of his trips to Yasukuni, which memorializes 14 war criminals among the more than 2 million war dead honored there. He has visited the shrine five times since becoming Prime Minister in 2001, damaging relations with China and South Korea, which argue the memorial glorifies Japan's invasion of Asia during World War II.

Koizumi's term as premier ends in September, when he steps down as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. A poll published yesterday by Kyodo News showed former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, who has criticized the Yasukuni visits, is narrowing the gap with Abe as the candidate most favored to succeed Koizumi.

Kyodo cited unidentified political analysts as saying Fukuda was helped by the media coverage of his recent visit to the U.S., where he met Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Rice, during a trip to Australia in March, urged Japan and China to repair their relationship.

To contact the reporter on this story: Keiichi Yamamura in Tokyo at kyamamura@bloomberg.net John Brinsley in Tokyo at jbrinsley@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 16, 2006 01:53 EDT