Suga sends offerings to Yasukuni Shrine

SEOUL-- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga sent offerings to Yasukuni Shrine on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.

Suga did not visit the shrine in person but three members of his cabinet, including Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Education Minister Koichi Hagiuda, paid homage there, according to the news agency.

Since taking over as premier in September last year from Shinzo Abe, Suga has not visited the shrine but sent offerings twice in October and April this year.

News reports showed that Abe visited the shrine on Sunday, his fourth confirmed trip there since leaving office.

Yasukuni Shrine honors Japan's war dead, including 14 Class A war criminals. Japanese leaders' visits to the shrine have drawn strong condemnation from Asian neighbors, including South Korea, as they were viewed as an attempt to beautify the country's militaristic past.

On Friday, South Korea's foreign ministry called in a senior diplomat from the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to lodge protest against Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi's visit to the shrine.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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