SEUL Apr 21 South Korea expressed «deep disappointment and regret» due to the fact that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a ritual offering to the Yasukuni Shrine, which in Asia is often associated with Japanese militarism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea said.
«The Government expresses its deep disappointment and regret at the fact that officials at the level of Japan's leader once again sent offerings and commemorated at the Yasukuni Shrine, which celebrates Japan's aggressive military past and contains (commemorative plaques — ed. .) war criminals,» the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
South Korea is said to «strongly urge» Japan to «look history straight in the face» and show sincere remorse for its past by «action.»
Earlier, on behalf of Kishida, a ritual offering in the form of a potted sakaki tree (Japanese glue) was sent to Yasukuni Shrine in honor of the spring temple holidays, which will be held this year on April 21-22.
Kishida, like his predecessors Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga, this year will also refrain from visiting the temple in person. He made the same offering last year. Together with him, the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Katsunobu Kato made the same offering.
Visits to the temple by Japanese politicians, as a rule, take place three times a year — on ritual holidays in April and October, as well as on the day of the announcement of Japan's withdrawal from World War II — August 15. Some politicians visit the temple at the end of the year.
Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, since his election to office in December 2012, has only visited the temple in person once, in December 2013. However, this caused not only a traditionally sharply negative reaction in China and South Korea, but also a noticeable chill in relations with Japan's main ally, the United States. Since then, both he and his successors have refrained from visiting the temple in person, confining themselves to making offerings.
The souls of all the warriors who gave their lives for the «emperor and great Japan» are worshiped in Yasukuni Shrine. There are commemorative plaques with the names of 2.5 million soldiers and officers who died for Japan in various wars, they also include the names of 14 war criminals of the Second World War.