Seoul criticizes Japanese parliamentarians' visiting Yasukuni Shrine

A number of Japanese leaders visited the shrine on the occasion of the shrine's autumn festival, including members of a bipartisan group that makes regular visits to the shrine.

In this file photo dated Aug. 15, Japanese lawmakers, including Ichiro Izawa, right, visit the Yasukuni Shrine. 15. [YONHAP]

The Foreign Ministry protested the visit by Japanese parliamentarians to the Yasukuni Shrine on Wednesday.

"The government of the Republic of Korea expresses deep disappointment and regret over the fact that responsible leaders of Japan have once again sent offerings to and paid respects at the Yasukuni Shrine which glorifies Japan's war of aggression and enshrines war criminals," the ministry's spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in an English-language statement.

"The ROK government strongly urges the leaders of Japan to squarely face history, and demonstrate through action their humble reflection and sincere remorse for Japan's past history and thus to contribute to the future-oriented development of Korea-Japan relations."

A number of Japanese leaders visited the shrine on the occasion of the shrine's autumn festival, including members of a bipartisan group that makes regular visits to the shrine.

The group had also paid a visit on Aug. 15, the day when Japan annually commemorates its memorial day for the end of the war, when the Imperial Japan surrendered in WWII.

Visits to the shrine have been a regular source of dispute between Japan and its neighbors Korea and China, whom Japan invaded in the 20th century. The shrine honors 1,068 war criminals, 14 of whom were Class A war criminals, meaning they were directly involved in plotting the war.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, inaugurated in October 2021, has sent ritual offerings to the shrine every spring and autumn festival but has not visited the shrine himself.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]