Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made an offering to a shrine seen by Japan¡¯s neighbors as glorifying its wartime past, in a move that stops short of a visit but may still anger China and other neighboring nations.
Takaichi¡¯s offering of a sacred tree was made on the first day of a traditional spring festival at Yasukuni Shrine, according to local media, and is in line with similar moves by her predecessors, Shigeru Ishiba and Fumio Kishida, during their time in office.?While her decision not to go to the shrine showed her more cautious stance on the issue, the leader of a party in Takaichi¡¯s ruling coalition visited the shrine on Tuesday, according to the Nikkei newspaper.
¡°My understanding is that Prime Minister Takaichi made an offering in a personal capacity, so we as the government are not in a position to comment on the matter,¡± Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said in a regular news briefing on Tuesday. Kihara didn¡¯t comment on the reported visit by Fumitake Fujita, co-leader of the Japan Innovation Party.?
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.