Japan defense chief visits Yasukuni shrine on WWII surrender anniversary
What's new: Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stayed away but sent an offering, a move that may still draw criticism from China and South Korea.
Japan's defense minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, visited Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday, marking 81 years since Japan's surrender in World War II, while Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi did not appear at the site. Local media reported that Takaichi sent an offering instead. The shrine honors about 2.5 million war dead, including convicted war criminals, and visits by senior Japanese politicians have long angered China and South Korea, which see them as a sign Japan has not fully confronted wartime atrocities. Koizumi has visited before, but this was his first trip there as defense minister. The last Japanese defense minister to visit was Minoru Kihara in 2024.