Photo : YONHAP News
The government has expressed regret over a ritual offering that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent to the controversial Yasukuni war shrine.
In a statement issued Thursday, Seoul’s foreign ministry expressed disappointment and regret over Ishiba’s decision to send an offering to the shrine, which honors Japan’s war dead, including 14 Class A war criminals.
The ministry urged Ishiba and his new Cabinet to squarely face history and show genuine remorse through their actions, stressing that such an attitude would serve as an important foundation for future-oriented bilateral ties based on mutual trust.
Ishiba, who took office October 1, sent the “masakaki” offering Thursday, the first day of the shrine’s autumn festival.
Similar to his predecessors Fumio Kishida and Yoshihide Suga, Ishiba will reportedly not visit the shrine in person during the three-day festival.