In a move to mark the 71st anniversary of the end of World War II, dozens of Japanese legislators and Tokyo’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda paid their respects at the Yasukuni Shrine, seen as a symbol of Japan’s militaristic past. (image: Wikimedia)
SEOUL, Aug. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea on Monday expressed “deep concerns and regrets” over Japanese politicians’ visit to a controversial war shrine in Tokyo, urging them to work up their courage to “squarely face history.”
In a move to mark the 71st anniversary of the end of World War II, dozens of Japanese legislators and Tokyo’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda paid their respects at the Yasukuni Shrine, seen as a symbol of Japan’s militaristic past.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe refrained from visiting the shrine. Instead, he made a monetary offering to the shrine via an aide.
“(The Seoul government) expresses deep concerns and regrets over the fact that responsible politicians from the Japanese government and parliament made monetary offerings to or paid respects at the Yasukuni Shrine that glorifies Japan’s history of invasion,” said Seoul’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck in a statement.
“We urge Japanese politicians to bravely face history and actively seek to regain the trust of the neighboring countries by showing their humble reflection of and repentance for Japan’s past through action.”
The shrine honors Japanese war dead, including 14 Class-A criminals from World War II. Japanese politicians’ visits to the shrine anger South Korea and China, which suffered from Japanese aggression in the early part of the 20th century.
(Yonhap)
