TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday donated a ritual offering to a controversial war shrine, a report said.

The donation was made to coincide with the start of an autumn festival at the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, Jiji Press news agency said.

No confirmation of the offering was immediately available from the shrine.

Mr Abe is widely expected to stay away from the site, which neighbours China and South Korea see as a painful reminder of Japan's imperialist past.