South Korea on Thursday deplored Japan's defense chief visiting a notorious war shrine that symbolizes Japan's past militarism, summoning Tokyo diplomats in Seoul to lodge complaint against the provocative move.
South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement that it was very deplorable for one of main Japanese politicians to pay homage to the Yasukuni Shrine that beautifies the war of aggression and the colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula while honoring war criminals.
The Korean Peninsula was colonized by the Imperial Japan from 1910 to 1945. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has yet to apologize for Japan's wartime crimes, bluntly revealing his militaristic ambition to become a country capable of waging a war through controversial security legislations.
Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada visited the war shrine earlier in the day, where 14 class-A convicted war criminals during World War Two and 2.5 million of war dead are enshrined.
Inada, who took office in August, became the first sitting Japanese defense chief to visit the symbol of militaristic Japan, enraging neighboring countries such as South Korea and China.
The Seoul ministry stressed that Japan can win trust from the international community only when the country shows its sincere repentance and reflection over its wartime past through concrete actions.
South Korea's defense ministry also issued a statement, expressing deep concerns and regrets over the Yasukuni visit in defiance of Seoul's repeated calls to build future-oriented relations between South Korea and Japan by squarely facing the history.
Both foreign and defense ministries of South Korea summoned Japanese diplomats in Seoul, lodging their strong protest against the provocative move.
The Japanese defense minister's visit to the war shrine can be considered more serious than other right-wing Japanese politicians as the Abe-led cabinet is pushing to amend its pacifist constitution and become a country capable of waging a war.
South Korea signed an accord with Japan on Nov. 23 to directly exchange military intelligence on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) nuclear and missile programs despite parliamentary and public opposition.
The bilateral military pact is seen as part of the U.S. Pivot to Asia strategy by combining military assets and intelligence among South Korea, Japan and the United States.
