Politics | Apr 21

Kishida sends ritual offering to Yasukuni shrine; economic security minister Takaichi visits

TOKYO, Apr 21 (Japan Today) - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday sent a ritual offering to the war-linked Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, a source of diplomatic friction with China and South Korea, which regard it as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

Meanwhile, economic security minister Sanae Takaichi offered prayers at the Shinto shrine on the first day of the two-day spring festival. Takaichi, known for her hawkish views on security policy, has visited Yasukuni on various occasions, including its seasonal festivals.

Kishida sent the masakaki offering, but the premier, who heads a dovish faction within the conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is likely to eschew an in-person visit as he did previously.

Yasukuni shrine honors the souls of the country's more than 2.4 million war dead, but Japanese wartime leaders convicted as war criminals in a post-World War II international tribunal are also enshrined there. ...continue reading

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