\n Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual donation to a controversial Tokyo war shrine Monday -- the 71st anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II -- but avoided visiting in an apparent nod to China and South Korea.\n<\/p>\n
\n Yasukuni Shrine honours millions of mostly Japanese war dead, as well as senior military and political figures convicted of war crimes after the war.\n<\/p>\n
\n The indigenous Shinto religious shrine has for decades been a flashpoint for criticism by countries that suffered from Japan's colonialism and aggression in the first half of the 20th century.\n<\/p>\n
\n Abe visited in December 2013 to mark his first year in power, a pilgrimage that sparked fury in Beijing and Seoul and earned a diplomatic rebuke from close ally the United States, which said it was \"disappointed\" by the action.\n<\/p>\n
\n He and other nationalists say the shrine is merely a place to remember fallen soldiers and compare it to burial grounds such as Arlington National Cemetery in the US.\n<\/p>\n
\n But he has since refrained from going and reactions by China and South Korea to Yasukuni visits by Cabinet ministers and lawmakers, while remaining critical, have become less intense.\n<\/p>\n
\n Abe sent the offering Monday as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party -- not as prime minister -- in an apparent bid to lessen any criticism.\n<\/p>\n
\n Speaking to reporters, Yasutoshi Nishimura, a party aide to Abe who made the donation on his behalf, said it came from Abe's own money.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Personally, I offered my condolences to the spirits of the war dead who fought for the country,\" he told reporters on a muggy morning in Tokyo amid the sound of chirping cicadas.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"We should carry on the path of a peaceful country and should never initiate war.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n Yasukuni Shrine also confirmed the donation.\n<\/p>\n
\n Koichi Hagiuda, deputy chief Cabinet secretary, visited the shrine as did Gen Nakatani, the former defence minister.\n<\/p>\n
\n But Tomomi Inada, Abe's hawkish new defence chief who has been a frequent visitor to the shrine in past years, was on an official visit to Djibouti.\n<\/p>\n
\n Speculation had been intense over whether she would visit, but the overseas trip appeared to provide a convenient way to avoid angering China and South Korea.\n<\/p>\n
\n Japanese media reported that Sanae Takaichi, a right-leaning member of Abe's Cabinet, was expected to visit sometime during the day.\n<\/p>\n
\n An official annual ceremony commemorating the end of the war will take place later Monday inside a Tokyo arena and be attended by Abe as well as Emperor Akihito.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual donation to a controversial Tokyo war shrine Monday -- the 71st anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II -- but avoided visiting in an apparent nod to China and South Korea. Yasukuni Shrine honours millions of mostly Japanese war dead, as well as senior military and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-28744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n