Abe sparks controversy with Yasukuni Shrine on surrender anniversary

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to the notorious war-linked Yasukuni Shrine on Tuesday on the 72nd anniversary of Japan's surrender, which brought an end to World War II.

The Yasukuni Shrine honors 14 Class-A convicted war criminals among 2.5 million Japanese war dead from World War II and is regarded as a symbol of past Japanese militarism.

Visits and ritual offerings made by senior politicians to the war-linked shrine consistently disregard the feelings of those in Japan's neighboring countries.

As such, the move will likely draw the ire of Japan's closest neighbors, including South Korea and China, which suffered immeasurably at the barbaric hands of the Imperial Army of Japan before, during and after World War II.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)