The visit to the controversial shrine was the first by a sitting prime minister since Junichiro Koizumi paid his respects to the war dead in 2006. The shrine honors 2.5 million war dead, including 14 class-A criminals. Abe visited Yasukuni to mark the first anniversary of his inauguration.
The "surprise" visit was construed as an attempt to justify Japan’s wartime aggression and beautify the wrongdoings it committed during its colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula (1910-1945).
South Korean Culture Minister Yoo Jin-ryong said that (South) Koreans cannot but “deplore and be indignant” over Abe’s Yasukuni visit, describing it as an "anachronistic“ act.
“The shrine honors war criminals whom South Koreans cannot forgive. Abe’s visit to the shrine illustrates his erroneous view of history, which undermines the foundation for stability and cooperation in Northeast Asia as well as between the two countries,” Yoo said in a statement in his capacity as government spokesman.
South Korea and Japan have also been in a diplomatic row over Tokyo's claims to South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo as well as the issue of "comfort women," who were forced to serve as "sex slaves" for Japanese soldiers during World War II.
China also expressed "strong indignation" over the visit. “Prime Minister Abe visited Yasukuni, regardless of China’s strong objections, trampling on the sentiment of Chinese and other Asian victims of World War II and challenging historical justice and human conscience,“ foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com