Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (front) attends the ceremony marking the 71st anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender in World War II in Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 15, 2016. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to the notorious war-linked Yasukuni Shrine on Monday, where two of his cabinet members paid homage on the 71st anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender in World War II, drawing criticism from Japan's Asian neighbors.
Regardless of the feeling of the peoples of neighbor countries, Abe sent his aide Yasutoshi Nishimura to make the offering on his behalf as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
The prime minister is reportedly to refrain from visiting the notorious shrine during the day in an effort to prevent further damage to Japan's relationship with China and South Korea.
But at an annual memorial ceremony held by the Japanese government in Tokyo Monday noon, Abe once again failed to mention "reflection" over the past war.
Japanese Emperor Akihito, in contrast, stated his "deep remorse" over the past war for the second time at the national memorial service, and expressed his wish for world peace.
Meanwhile, two of Abe's newly reshuffled cabinet members paid homage to the notorious shrine on Monday, including Sanae Takaichi, internal affairs minister and Tamayo Marukawa, minister in charge of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
Farm minister Yuji Yamamoto, however, told a press conference Monday that he visited Yasukuni on Aug. 6. Masahiro Imamura, minister for reconstruction of disaster-hit regions, visited the shrine last week.
Dozens of conservative lawmakers, including Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda and Shinjiro Koizumi, son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, also visited the shrine Monday.
Japan's new defense minister Tomomi Inada, who had regularly visited the shrine before, did not pay homage Monday as she has been on a four-day trip to Djibouti in Africa since Saturday. But an LDP lawmakers' group with Inada as president visited the shrine.
The Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 14 Class-A convicted war criminals among 2.5 million Japanese war dead from the WWII, is regarded as a symbol of the past Japanese militarism.
Visits to the infamous shrine by Japanese leaders and officials have sparked strong criticism from China and South Korea.
