South Korean Foreign Ministry Criticizes Kishida's Ritual Offering To Yasukuni Shrine

SEOUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st April, 2023) South Korea has expressed "deep disappointment and regret" over Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's ritual offering to the Yasukuni shrine, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Earlier in the day, Kishida sent a ritual Masakaki offering on the occasion of the Shinto spring festival to the Yasukuni shrine, which is often regarded throughout Asia as a symbol of Japan's past militarism. Beijing also protested Kishida's decision and made representation to Tokyo.

"The government expresses deep disappointment and regret over the fact that officials of the level of Japan's leader once again sent offerings and paid pilgrimage to the Yasukuni shrine, which glorifies Japan's aggressive militarist past and contains (commemorative plaques) of war criminals," the ministry said in a statement.

South Korean also urged Japan "to look straight in the face of history" and show sincere remorse for its past "through action," according to the statement.

Located in central Tokyo, the Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine founded in 1869 to commemorate those fallen in the service of Japan. The shrine lists information about some 2.5 million people and animals that died while fighting for Japan, including over 1,000 war criminals, with 14 of them being A-Class convicts � those who have been convicted of planning, preparing, or waging wars.

Since 2013, Japan's prime ministers have refrained from visiting the shrine. Shinzo Abe was the last prime minister of the Asian nation to visit the shrine personally, as his visit in December 2013 caused a strong negative reaction in China and South Korea and led to a cooling of ties with the United States. Japan's prime ministers have since only sent offerings to the shrine.