NYT - The Saturday Profile: Ad Man-Turned-Priest Tackles His Hardest Sales Job

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So will Mr. Koizumi worship at Yasukuni this year? Mr. Nambu says he does not know, and is not pressing the prime minister. Instead, he says he is wrapped up in his daily duties as chief priest, and in tackling a long-term threat: the declining numbers of veterans and relatives of the war dead, the shrine's strongest supporters. "It is the biggest problem," Mr. Nambu said in a lengthy interview at the shrine here, dressed in a white and gray robe. "So we have to think of ways to get young people to visit." To that end, it is not surprising that, for the first time in Yasukuni's history, its new chief priest is not only a salaryman but a former advertising man as well. "I cannot take advantage of my experience on issues such as China's opposition to the prime minister's visit to Yasukuni," Mr. Nambu said of his time at Dentsu. "That is a matter for the country to deal with. But I can help in making efforts to promote awareness among young people."