BEIJING, Aug. 15 -- China is "firmly opposed" to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's offering and cabinet ministers' visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Friday.

"The Yasukuni Shrine honors 14 convicted Class-A Japanese war criminals from World War II and glorifies its history of aggression," Hua said. "The visit and offering again reflect the Japanese government's wrong attitude toward historical issues."

The Yasukuni shrine is a spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarism and its invasion of foreign countries. The shrine reflects whether the Japanese government can correctly understand and deal with its past aggression, respect the feelings of victim countries in Asia and honor its commitments on historical issues, she said.

Hua said only when Japan faces up to and reflects on its invasion history and draws the line at militarism can China-Japan relations achieve sound and stable development.

She urged the Japanese side to properly handle the issues with a responsible attitude and regain trust from its Asian neighbors and the international community through concrete actions.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent an offering to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine through his aide Kouichi Hagiuda on Friday on the 69th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.

Earlier on Friday, two Japanese ministers in Abe's cabinet, namely Yoshitaka Shindo, Japanese internal affairs minister, and Chairman of Japan's National Public Safety Commission Keiji Furuya, also visited the controversial shrine.