Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato visited Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Friday, the 80th anniversary of the country¡¯s surrender in World War II.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba made a tamagushi ritual offering at the Shinto shrine in his capacity as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party while refraining from paying a visit. He paid for the offering through a representative.
The visits by Kato and Koizumi marked the sixth consecutive year a Cabinet minister visited the war-related shrine on the anniversary.
The shrine, located in the capital¡¯s Chiyoda Ward, is regarded as a symbol of Japan¡¯s past militarism by neighboring countries such as China and South Korea as it enshrines Class-A World War II criminals along with millions of war dead.
The South Korean government on Friday urged the leaders of Japan to face history and demonstrate ¡°humble reflection and sincere remorse¡± for Japan¡¯s past history, a Foreign Ministry statement said.
¡°This is an important foundation for the development of future-oriented relations between the two countries based on mutual trust,¡± it said.
The Chinese Embassy in Japan, meanwhile, said their visit reflects the ¡°lingering ghosts¡± of Japan¡¯s militarism, which China urged Japan to break away from.
It is the first time that ministers of the Ishiba Cabinet were confirmed to have visited Yasukuni Shrine on special occasions, which include its spring and autumn festivals as well as the war-end anniversary. Ishiba took office last October.
¡°It is important not to forget to show respect to those who sacrificed their lives for the country,¡± Koizumi told a news conference after the shrine visit.
Other visitors to Yasukuni Shrine on Friday included Sanae Takaichi and Takayuki Kobayashi, both LDP lawmakers and former economic security ministers. Sohei Kamiya, the leader of opposition Sanseito, and Naoki Hyakuta, head of the small opposition Conservative Party of Japan, also visited.
About 50 lawmakers from both chambers of Japan¡¯s parliament who are members of a league of parliamentarians promoting Yasukuni visits went to the shrine in a group the same day.
No sitting prime minister has visited the shrine since Shinzo Abe in December 2013.
Ishiba, as is customary, made a masakaki ritual tree offering to Yasukuni Shrine at the 2024 autumn festival and this year¡¯s spring festival.
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