Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, attends the debate with other political party leaders at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, Japan, on Oct 12, 2024. (Photo: Eugene Hoshiko/Pool via REUTERS)

Japan PM Ishiba sends offering to Yasukuni Shrine ahead of election

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TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent an offering to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, his office said on Thursday (Oct 17), a move that has previously been criticised by South Korea and China, which view the shrine as a symbol of Japan's militaristic past.

It was Ishiba's first such offering, including before he took office this month, his office said, a rite commonly made to coincide with autumn and spring festivals.

The shrine includes 14 Japanese wartime leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal among the 2.5 million war dead honoured there.

Ishiba called a snap election of Japan's lower house of parliament this month, where polls indicate his ruling Liberal Democratic Party is at risk of losing its outright majority.

Source: Reuters/ec

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