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BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sent a ritual offering to the Yasukuni Shrine in central Tokyo at the start of a four-day annual autumn festival. Japan's Kyodo News Agency said Abe refrained from visiting the war shrine. Instead, he dedicated a "masakaki" tree, which is traditionally used in rituals.
That's still considered provocative, since the shrine honors 14 convicted Class-A war criminals apart from millions of war dead. Abe visited the controversial shrine in December 2013 on the first anniversary after he took office, drawing immediate rebukes from China and South Korea, which suffered Japanese wartime brutality. Abe is planning summit talks with China and South Korea to be held in early November in Seoul.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
