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China protests as Japanese PM sends offering to Yasukuni temple

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sent a ritual offering to Tokyo’s Yasukuni temple which is considered a symbol of Japanese past militarism in Asian states
Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo  EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON
Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo
© EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON

TOKYO, October 17. /TASS/. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sent a ritual offering to Tokyo’s Yasukuni temple which is considered a symbol of Japanese past militarism in Asian states.

Japanese Shinto Yasukuni shrine keeps the lists of all Japanese who perished on the battlefields from the middle of the nineteenth century. This list also includes war criminals who were executed on the verdicts passed at the Tokyo War Crimes Trials and therefore Japanese officials’ visits to the Yasukuni shrine are taken in Asian states who suffered from Japanese aggression during WWII as its justification.

China has voiced protest over this event. “We are deeply concerned and oppose strongly a negative tendency regarding the Yasukuni temple,” Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Hong Lei said, adding that “We urge Japan to fulfil its duties on historical questions properly and to take concrete actions to regain trust of neighbouring countries and the international community.