Japan minister visits controversial war shrine: Reports

TOKYO (AFP) - A Japanese cabinet minister visited a controversial war shrine in Tokyo on Saturday, in a move likely to cause anger in China and South Korea, which see it as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

Mr Yoshitaka Shindo, minister for internal affairs and communications, paid homage on Saturday morning at the Yasukuni shrine, Jiji Press and the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

China and South Korea see it as a brutal reminder of Tokyo's imperialist past and wartime aggression, and its failure to repent for its history.

In December, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made his first visit as premier to the shrine, which honours Japan's war dead, including several high-level officials executed for war crimes after World War II.

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