S. Korea voices deep regret over Japanese PM's offering to Yasukuni Shrine

SEOUL, April 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea expressed "deep disappointment and regret" Sunday over Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sending a ritual offering to a war shrine seen as a symbol of Japan's militaristic past.

Earlier in the day, Kishida sent the ceremonial tree to the Yasukuni Shrine, while Economic Revitalization Minister Yoshitaka Shindo, a cabinet member, visited it on the occasion of its spring festival, according to Japan's Kyodo News.

The shrine honors Japan's war dead, including 14 Class A war criminals from World War II. Neighboring countries like South Korea and China view visits to the shrine by Japanese leaders as an attempt to glorify the country's militaristic past.

"The government expresses deep disappointment and regret that responsible Japanese leaders have once again sent offerings or paid respects at the Yasukuni Shrine," the foreign ministry's spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a statement.

"We urge the responsible leaders of Japan to squarely face up to history and show through action a humble reflection and genuine repentance for the past, and emphasize again that that would be an important foundation for the development of future-oriented South Korea-Japan relations."

Since taking office in 2021, Kishida has not visited the shrine but has sent ritual offerings.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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