⁍ It would be Suga’s first such offering to the shrine since taking office last month.
⁍ His predecessor, Shinzo Abe, had also regularly sent offerings via an aide.
⁍ The shrine, in Tokyo, is seen by Beijing and Seoul as a symbol of Japan’s past military aggression.
– Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has sent an offering to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine for war dead to coincide with its autumn festival, Reuters reports. It would be Suga’s first such offering to the shrine since taking office last month. It would be Suga’s first such offering to the shrine since taking office last month. His predecessor, Shinzo Abe, had also regularly sent offerings via an aide on the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II and during the shrine’s spring and autumn festivals, refraining from visiting in person to avoid angering China and South Korea. The shrine, in Tokyo, is seen by Beijing and Seoul as a symbol of Japan’s past military aggression because it honors 14 Japanese wartime leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal as well as war dead.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-yasukuni-suga/japan-pm-suga-sends-offering-to-yasukuni-shrine-for-war-dead-nhk-idUSKBN27134C