Japan PM Shigeru Ishiba sends offering to Yasukuni Shrine ahead of election
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It was Mr Shigeru Ishiba's first such offering, including before he took office in October, a rite commonly made to coincide with autumn and spring festivals.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent an offering to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, his office said on Oct 17, drawing criticism from South Korea which views the shrine as a symbol of Japan’s militaristic past.
It was his first such offering, including before he took office in October, his office said, a rite commonly made to coincide with autumn and spring festivals.
The shrine includes 14 Japanese wartime leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal among the 2.5 million war dead honoured there.
South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement that its government expresses “deep disappointment and regret” that Japanese leaders have made such gestures or visited the shrine. It did not mention Mr Ishiba by name.
Mr Ishiba called a snap election of Japan’s Lower House of Parliament in October, with polls indicating his ruling Liberal Democratic Party is at risk of losing its outright majority.
Relations between Japan and South Korea have improved in recent years and Mr Ishiba and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol have said they hope to deepen ties further. REUTERS
