Japan's Defense Minister visits controversial Yasukuni Shrine on WWII anniversary

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Saturday, marking the 81st anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II. The shrine is a site of significant controversy with neighboring countries due to its veneration of Japan's militarist past.

Koizumi, the son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, was accompanied by Hitoshi Kikawada, the Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs. The visits by government officials to Yasukuni have historically drawn strong protests from China and South Korea, nations that suffered under Japanese colonial rule.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has previously expressed revisionist views on Japan's wartime history and often visited the shrine, abstained from attending in person this year. This decision is seen as an effort to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing and Seoul. However, Kishida, who also chairs the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), sent a ritual offering to the shrine.

Yasukuni Shrine honors over 2.4 million Japanese war dead from conflicts dating back to the late 19th century. Among those enshrined are 14 individuals convicted as war criminals by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East following World War II. No sitting Japanese prime minister has visited the shrine since Shinzo Abe's visit in December 2013, which sparked widespread criticism both domestically and internationally, although various officials have continued to send offerings.