The World Today
South Korea also warned the Japanese government on Friday of its "disappointment" with this action.
MADRID, 17 (EUROPA PRESS)
China's Foreign Ministry urged Japan on Saturday to "reflect on its history of aggression" and exercise "caution" after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent a symbolic offering to the Yasukuni Shrine, the burial site of war criminals, to commemorate the end of World War II.
"China strongly deplores Japan's actions that flagrantly defy historical justice and human conscience. We have lodged serious protests with the Japanese side," a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in statements reported by the Xinhua news agency.
The controversial Yasukuni Shinto shrine is a symbol for the Japanese as it honors all those who have died serving the country since the 19th century. However, for neighboring countries like Seoul and Moscow, it represents Japan's militaristic and warmongering past.
No prime minister has visited the site in person since Shinzo Abe in 2013, sparking a diplomatic storm. Instead, as happened this year, cabinet ministers usually attend—to appeal to the conservative base of the Liberal Democratic Party. This year, it was Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, surrounded by supporters of the far-right Sanseito party.
For the Chinese spokesperson, the temple is a "symbol of the Japanese militarists' war of aggression against foreign nations," and he added that it glorifies 14 war criminals.
China has called on its neighbor to break away from "militarism," adhere to the "path of peaceful development," and win the trust of the international community through "real actions."
The Chinese government wasn't the only one uneasy about this development; South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Lee Jae Wong expressed his "deep disappointment" in the incident on behalf of the government on Friday.
"We regret that Japanese leaders have once again sent offerings and visited the site, and we urge them once again to face history frankly and to demonstrate through actions humble reflection and a genuine will to resolve historical problems," he said in a statement reported by South Korea's official news agency Yonhap.
