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Agence France-Presse

Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday sent a ritual offering to a shrine honouring the country’s war dead that has long angered neighbouring countries, a spokesman for the site said.
No Japanese premier has visited the Yasukuni shrine since 2013 and Ishiba’s predecessor Fumio Kishida would also regularly send offerings for its biannual spring and autumn festivals.
Yasukuni in central Tokyo is dedicated to 2.5 million war dead, mostly Japanese, who have perished in conflicts since the late 19th century.
But this includes senior military and political figures convicted by an international tribunal of war crimes prior to and during World War II.

Every year, dozens of lawmakers pay their respects during the spring and autumn festival and in August for the anniversary of the emperor announcing Japan’s surrender in 1945.
But a Japanese prime minister has not appeared there since 2013, when Shinzo Abe sparked fury in Beijing and Seoul and earned a rare diplomatic rebuke from close ally the United States.
Ishiba is also expected to refrain from visiting the shrine in person during the autumn festival through Saturday, Kyodo News reported, citing an unnamed person close to him.
The minister of health, labour and welfare, Takamaro Fukuoka, also sent a “masakaki” tree offering, the spokesman for the shrine said.
When asked about the matter at a regular briefing, Beijing’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning called Yasukuni “a symbol of Japan’s militaristic war of aggression”.
“We urge Japan to face up to and reflect on its history of aggression (and) to be cautious in words and deeds regarding historical issues such as Yasukuni Shrine,” she said.

That will help Japan “gain the trust of Asian neighbours and the international community through concrete actions”, Mao added.
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 Ishiba by name.
Relations between Japan and South Korea have improved in recent years and Ishiba and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol have said they hope to deepen ties further.
Ishiba, who held a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang last week, has said Japan wants to resolve pending issues through consultations with China.
Ishiba, who became Japan’s prime minister on October 1 after the resignation of former prime minister Kishida, has called a snap election of Japan’s lower house of parliament this month. Polls indicate his ruling Liberal Democratic Party is at risk of losing its outright majority.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Japan

Japan’s new PM Shigeru Ishiba sends offering to Yasukuni war shrine

Japanese Shinto priests attend a ritual during an autumn festival at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. Photo: Reuters

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Photo: EPA-EFE

‘Masakaki’ tree offerings at the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo. Photo: JIJI Press via AFP

Japan’s PM Ishiba set to focus on security ties with South Korea to counter Pyongyang

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (middle) oversees a launch of a ballistic missile at an undisclosed place in North Korea. The threat from North Korea is expected to be a key focus in Shigeru Ishiba’s engagement with Yoon Suk-yeol. Photo: AP

(From left) South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol, US President Joe Biden and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David in August 2023. Photo: AP

Japanese lawmakers visit the Yasukuni shrine, the final resting place of class A war criminals from World War II, in Tokyo in August. Photo: Reuters

A TV screen in Seoul shows a file image of North Korea’s rocket launch. Pyongyang has become more unpredictable in recent months after it declared support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Photo: AP

Japan’s new PM calls snap election to ‘create a new Japan’

Shigeru Ishiba wants to shore up his mandate to push through policies that include more spending on defence. Photo: EPA-EFE

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a party leaders’ debate. Photo: Xinhua

Shigeru Ishiba, leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, bows to acknowledge the applause after he was selected as the new prime minister. Photo: AFP

China’s Li Qiang and Japanese PM Ishiba pledge stable ties in first meeting

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the Asean leaders’ meetings on East Asia cooperation in Vientiane on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua

From left, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, pictured after the group photo at the Asean summit in Laos on Thursday. Photo: AP

News

Asia

East Asia

The Yasukuni shrine is seen as a symbol of Japan’s wartime militarism by China and South Korea


The Yasukuni shrine is seen as a symbol of Japan’s wartime militarism by China and South Korea.


Yasukuni Shrine

Legacy of war in Asia

Shigeru Ishiba