China expressed its firm opposition after two Japanese cabinet ministers visited a controversial war shrine on Wednesday, urging its neighbor to face up to, and reflect, upon its history of aggression.
The ministers, internal affairs chief Sanae Takaichi and Katsunobu Kato, in charge of women's empowerment, visited the Yasukuni shrine during a four-day autumn festival.
The shrine in Tokyo honors Japan's war dead, including 14 Class-A war criminals convicted by an Allied tribunal, and is seen as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.
"The cabinet ministers' visit reveals the Japanese government's wrong attitude toward history," Hua Chunying, spokeswoman of the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
"China urges Japan to make a clean break with militarism and win back trust from its Asian neighbors and the international community with concrete deeds," she said.
