Japanese Prime Minister Sends Offerings to War Shrine, Invites Rebuke From China

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent religious offerings to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo Friday, triggering a rebuke from China.

Japan's relations with China and South Korea took a down turn when Prime Minister Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo last December. The Shrine reveres 2.5 million Japanese war dead.  It also honors 14 executed "Class-A war criminals."

The Japanese Prime Minister sent a set of Shinto-style "masakaki" ornaments, as the shrine was celebrating the autumn festival, a major event when patriotic Japanese pray there.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Abe prayed at the shrine in his capacity as a private citizen based on his personal belief.

Though 110 lawmakers and 80 aides prayed at the shrine, none of the cabinet members have visited the shrine till Friday.

Meanwhile, the Chinese foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that Beijing was resolutely opposed to such customs.

"The China-Japan relations can only develop when Japan truly faces and introspects its history of aggression and has a clear break away from militarism," Hong said, reports the Associated Press.

Japanese officials hope for a first - ever meeting between Abe and Chinese President XI Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Beijing in November.

Koichi Hagiuda, a ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) aide to Abe, said earlier this month that the prime minister may perhaps put off the visit to the shrine taking japans' national interests into consideration. Hagiuda also cited next month's summit in Beijing as a possible reason for Abe refraining from visiting the shrine, reports Reuters.

Japan's history of wartime militarism and territorial disputes with China over islands in the East China Sea are impeding cordial relationship between the two countries. Both countries also do not trust each other in their defense plans.