China 'firmly opposed' to Japanese official's visit to Yasukuni Shrine  

日本內閣部分成員15日參拜靖國神社 中方堅決反對

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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.

Japanese PM sends offering to war-linked Yasukuni Shrine

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 to the World War II.

Hagiuda told reporters after his visit to the shrine that the prime minister sent the offering as the president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Local reports said that Abe's avoiding to pay his respect this time aims to prepare for a meeting of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation to be held in Beijing later this year, in which Abe wants to hold talks with Chinese leader.

Abe worshipped to the shrine last year in December on the first anniversary of his taking office and the Yasukuni visit triggered fierce criticisms worldwide, including Japan's key ally the United States, which said the move is "disappointing." >>>

Japanese ministers visit war-linked Yasukuni  

Japanese Internal Affairs Minister Yoshitaka Shindo visited the controversial war-linked Yasukuni Shrine on Friday on the 69th anniversary of Japan's surrender in the World War II.

Shindo's visit to the notorious shrine follows Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission Keiji Furuya's worship minutes later and Shindo said his visit was a private behavior.

For his part, Furuya said after his visit that it is reasonable for him, as a Japanese, to pay worship to the shrine that he called as a place not to whitewash Japan's wartime history.

Furuya visited the shrine during its spring and autumn festivals since he became state minister of the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet launched in 2012. He also paid his respect to the Yasukuni on Aug. 15 last year. >>>