Japanese Shinto priests participate in a ritual during an autumn festival at Yasukuni Shrine on October 17, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan. Photo courtesy: Reuters
Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday (Oct 17, 2024) sent a ritual offering to a shrine honoring the country’s war dead, which has long angered the neighboring country, a spokesman for the site said.
Seoul expressed “deep disappointment that responsible leaders in Japan have once again paid homage to Yasukuni Shrine”.
No Japanese prime minister has visited Yasukuni Shrine since 2013, and Ishiba’s predecessor Fumio Kishida also regularly sent offerings for its biennial spring and autumn festivals.
Yasukuni in central Tokyo is dedicated to the 2.5 million war dead, mostly Japanese, who have died in conflicts since the late 19th century.
But it also includes senior military and political figures convicted by an international tribunal of war crimes before and during World War II.
Each year, dozens of lawmakers pay their respects during the Spring and Autumn Festival and in August on the anniversary of the emperor announcing Japan’s surrender in 1945.
published – October 18, 2024 10:47 am IST