BEIJING, Dec. 26 -- China on Thursday strongly condemned the shrine visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, saying the Japanese leader's acts deeply hurt Asian war victims.

"We strongly protest and seriously condemn the Japanese leader's acts," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said immediately after Abe's Thursday visit to the Yasukuni shrine, honoring 14 class-A WWII criminals.

Abe's visit is the first by a serving Japanese prime minister since 2006.