TOKYO (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual donation to the Shinto shrine, which is regarded as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism by other Asian nations, while 70 lawmakers and two ministers paid a visit to the shrine.
"We express our deep concern and regret over the donation of offerings and the visit by political leaders of the government and the parliament to the Yasukuni Shrine, which embellishes the history of the Japanese aggression," the ministry’s statement reads.
The statement also called on Tokyo authorities to “revise their views of the past” and to act upon it.
The Yasukuni shrine was founded by Emperor Meiji in 1869. It lists about two and half million civilians and government officials who died in wars between 1867 and 1951, as well as about 1,000 war criminals, 14 of which are considered to be A-Class, or those internationally acknowledged to have participated in a joint conspiracy to start and wage war.