Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Makes Offering To Yasukuni Shrine
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has made a ritual offering at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine on the occasion of its autumn festival.
The shrine honors Japan's war dead. Those remembered include leaders convicted of war crimes after World War Two.
Kishida sent a potted tree fitted with a wooden plaque that carried his name and title on Monday, the first day of the annual autumn festival. Sources say Kishida will not visit the shrine during the two-day festival.
The sources say Kishida had not made such offerings to the shrine before he took office in October last year. But he did so for last year's autumn festival, shortly after his inauguration, and again for this year's spring festival.
The sources say Kishida's offerings follow the precedent set by his two predecessors, Abe Shinzo and Suga Yoshihide.
Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Kato Katsunobu also sent a similar offering to the shrine this time.
Economic Security Minister Takaichi Sanae visited the shrine on Monday. She said she paid her respects to the war dead.
China's foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a news conference on Monday that Beijing steadfastly opposes Japan's moves regarding the shrine.
Wang said China wants Japan to fulfill its pledge to squarely look at its history of aggression and reflect on it.
He said Japan should also part ways with militarism and gain the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community through actions.
The South Korean foreign ministry released a spokesperson's comment on Monday expressing deep disappointment and regret over the offerings and visits to the shrine by Japanese leaders.
The commentary says the shrine glorifies Japan's war of aggression and enshrines war criminals.
It adds that Seoul strongly urges responsible figures in Japan to look directly into history and take action to show humble remorse and sincere reflection of its past mistakes.