(File photo)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday morning as it kicked off a four-day annual autumn festival.

Abe, who is planning summit talks with China and South Korea to be held in early November in Seoul, refrained from visiting the war-linked shrined which honors millions of war dead as well as 14 convicted Class-A war criminals, instead of dedicating a "masakaki" tree under the title of the prime minister during its autumn festival, said Japan's Kyodo News Agency.

However, the move is still deemed provocative as the shrine, which lies in central Tokyo, has been as source of diplomatic friction between Japan and several of its Asian neighbors.

Abe visited the controversial shrine in December 2013 at the first anniversary after he took office, drawing immediate rebukes from China and South Korea, which suffered from Japanese wartime brutality.