Japan PM Suga sends offering to controversial war shrine
17 October, 2020
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga sent a ritual offering on Saturday (Oct 17) to the controversial Yasukuni war shrine, which is seen by neighboring countries as symbolic of the nation's past militarism, especially during World War II.
Yasukuni honors some 2.5 million war dead, mostly Japanese, who perished in the country's wars since the late 19th century.
But it also honors senior military and political figures convicted of war crimes by an international tribunal after WWII.
The prime minister sent a sacred "masakaki" tree in the name of the prime minister in the beginning of an annual autumn festival, a shrine spokeswoman said.
Suga, who took office last month, followed a rite conducted by his nationalist predecessor Shinzo Abe, who also sent ritual offerings to the shrine in recent years.
But Suga isn't likely to make a pilgrimage during the two-day biannual event, local media reported, as he'll start a four-day visit to Vietnam and Indonesia on Sunday, his first overseas visit as premier.
Abe visited the shrine in 2013, sparking fury from wartime foes China and South Korea, and earning a rare diplomatic rebuke from close ally America.
Since then, Abe refrained from paying tributes at the shrine personally but other conservative politicians continued, in particular on Aug 15 to mark Japan's WWII surrender.
Abe visited Yasukuni days after he resigned in September.
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