Japanese PM sends offering to notorious war-linked Yasukuni Shrine

TOKYO, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sent a ritual offering to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine on Tuesday, as the country marked the 78th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.

Kishida sent the "masakaki" offering to the shrine, a symbol of Japan's past brutal militarism, in his capacity as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

While Kishida has not visited the notorious shrine in person, one of his cabinet members, economic security minister Sanae Takaichi paid homage at the shrine.

Koichi Hagiuda, chairperson of the LDP's Policy Research Council, also visited the shrine on Tuesday.

The Yasukuni Shrine, located in central Tokyo, honors 14 convicted Class-A Japanese war criminals from World War II. It has long been a source of diplomatic friction for Japan and its neighbors.

Visits and ritual offerings made by Japanese officials to the controversial shrine have consistently sparked criticism and hurt the feelings of the people of China, South Korea and other countries brutalized by Japan during the war.