Japan’s Suga Sends Offering to Yasukuni War Shrine, NHK Says

(Bloomberg) -- Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga sent an offering to the controversial Yasukuni shrine, public broadcaster NHK reported Saturday without saying where it obtained the information.

Among other war dead, the Tokyo shrine honors 14 men convicted as Class A war criminals after World War II and is generally viewed by Japan’s neighbors as a symbol of the country’s past militarism. Suga, who became prime minister last month, is continuing the tradition of Japanese leaders paying respects without visiting the shrine in an official capacity, which can be seen as crossing a diplomatic red line.

While Suga’s predecessor Shinzo Abe hadn’t made an official pilgrimage since 2013, a number of his cabinet members did in August on the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in 1945. Abe paid a personal visit shortly after resigning due to an illness.

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