TOKYO: Japan’s new prime minister on Sunday sent a ritual offering to the controversial Yasukuni shrine that honours the war dead but is seen by neighbouring countries as a symbol of Tokyo’s past militarism.

Fumio Kishida sent the “masakaki” tree offering under his name as prime minister to celebrate the shrine’s biannual festival held in the spring and autumn, a spokeswoman for the shrine said. Two of Kishida’s ministers also offered sacred trees. Yasukuni honours 2.5 million war dead, mostly Japanese, who have perished since the late 19th century.

But the central Tokyo shrine also honours senior military and political figures convicted of war crimes by an international tribunal.

Earlier this year, three top ministers paid their respects at the shrine on the anniversary of Japan’s World War II surrender. 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 the United States.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2021