A cross-party group of around 90 Japanese lawmakers on Tuesday visited the war-linked Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo for its fall festival, a move expected to irritate some Asian neighbors who view it as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.
The group, mainly composed of conservative lawmakers, has routinely visited the Shinto shrine on the occasion of its biannual festivals in the spring and fall as well as the anniversary of the end of World War II on Aug. 15.
The lawmakers last visited the shrine at the time of its spring festival this year, but they refrained from offering prayers at Yasukuni on the war anniversary this summer amid a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.
The seasonal festivals normally run for three days but have been shortened to two days as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the shrine said. The latest fall festival began on Monday.
Yasukuni shrine honors the souls of the country's more than 2.4 million war dead, but Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals by a post-World War II international tribunal are also enshrined there.
Past visits to the shrine by Japanese prime ministers and lawmakers have drawn criticism from China and South Korea, where memories of Japan's wartime actions run deep.
Despite Prime Minister Fumio Kishida not visiting the shrine on Monday, Beijing and Seoul swiftly responded to his decision to instead send a ritual offering, saying the premier should reflect on Japan's history of aggression.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura visited the shrine last Friday, while Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, well known for her hawkish views, visited on Monday.
On Tuesday, Ichiro Aisawa, vice leader of the cross-party group, said at a press conference after visiting the shrine, "We took the significance of peace to our hearts."
Commenting on Kishida's offering of a "masakaki" ceremonial tree to the shrine, the veteran member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said he believes the prime minister sent it "out of his deep belief war should never be repeated."
Other lawmakers who visited Yasukuni on Tuesday included those belonging to Kishida's LDP, as well opposition politicians from the Japan Innovation Party and the Democratic Party for the People, the group said.
Hidehisa Otsuji, who previously led the cross-party group, also sent a ritual offering on Monday. He now serves as president of the House of Councillors.
In 1978, Yasukuni added 14 Class-A war criminals, such as wartime Prime Minister Gen. Hideki Tojo who was executed by hanging for crimes against peace, to the enshrined deities, stirring controversy at home and abroad.
Related coverage:
Japan PM Kishida sends ritual offering to war-linked Yasukuni shrine
Japanese minister visits war-linked Yasukuni shrine before festival
