China Criticizes Japanese Officials for Yasukuni Shrine Visits and Offerings

The shrine honors Japan's war dead from World War II, among them 14 leaders considered deities, including Gen. Hideki Tojo, who was convicted of war crimes in 1948 and executed. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent a ritual offering to the shrine on Tuesday and a personal monetary offering on Wednesday.

House of Representatives member Ichiro Aisawa, who visited the shrine, stated that the war dead laid the foundation for a peaceful and prosperous Japan. He added that memories and records of the war must be passed down to prevent them from fading.

a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun stated that Japan has failed to rightly perceive and deeply reflect on its history of militarist aggression. He said the visits attempt to change the verdict on Japan's war of aggression and the Class-A war criminals enshrined at Yasukuni.

Guo also connected the shrine activities to Takaichi's previous comments on Taiwan, noting that they affect the political foundation of China-Japan relations. In November of last year, Takaichi described a hypothetical invasion of Taiwan as a national security threat that could warrant a military response from Japan.

Chinese officials responded to those comments at the time.

Takaichi did not visit the shrine in person, unlike former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who visited in 2013 to mark his one-year anniversary in office. Abe's 2013 visit prompted statements from South Korea, China, and the United States, with the U.S. expressing disappointment over actions that could exacerbate tensions with neighbors. Abe was assassinated in 2022.