Abe sends offering to controversial war shrine
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe carries a bouquet of flowers to offer at the Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery for unidentified remains of the nation's war dead in Tokyo, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019. Japan marked Thursday the 74th anniversary of the end of the World War II. AP-Yonhap
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent an offering to a war shrine seen as a symbol of Japan's imperialistic past Thursday to mark the country's 1945 surrender in World War II, a news report said.
Abe sent the offering to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine via an aide, Kyodo News reported. It marked the seventh consecutive year for him to send an offering to the shrine on the Aug. 15 day of surrender since taking office in December 2012.
Abe, however, is not expected to pay a visit to the shrine.
Abe visited the shrine in 2013, sparking strong protests from South Korea and China. He has not since paid a visit there and sent an offering instead.
Visits to the shrine by Japanese leaders have been a key source of tension in the region as the neighboring countries have riled strongly against such moves as an attempt to glorify the country's militaristic past. (Yonhap)