TOKYO – A Japanese minister visited today a controversial shrine that honours war dead but is seen as a symbol of past militarism, while the prime minister sent a ritual offering.
The Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo honours 2.5 million mostly Japanese war dead who perished since the late 19th century, and enshrines convicted war criminals.
Trips to the shrine by government officials have angered countries that suffered Japanese military atrocities, particularly China and South Korea.
A shrine spokesman said Sanae Takaichi, the minister in charge of economic security, visited the shrine today during the autumn festival.
Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura went to the shrine on Friday, before the festival began.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, however, has stayed away, instead sending a “masakaki” tree offering.
No Japanese prime minister has visited the shrine since 2013, when a trip by then-prime minister Shinzo Abe sparked fury in Beijing and Seoul and a rare diplomatic rebuke from close ally the United States. – AFP, October 17, 2022
