Key facts
- China condemned Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's ritual offering to Yasukuni Shrine.
- The offering was made on the 81st anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender.
- China views the shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism and wartime aggression.
- Beijing lodged a formal protest with Tokyo over the Yasukuni Shrine visits and offerings.
China has condemned Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for sending a ritual offering to Tokyo’s war-linked Yasukuni Shrine, a move that threatens to cast an even longer shadow over the strained ties between Beijing and Tokyo. On the 81st anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II, Takaichi sent a ritual tree-stand offering to the shrine in her capacity as prime minister, though she did not visit in person. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, along with three other ministers and an estimated 80 members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, visited the shrine in person. China's Foreign Ministry issued a strong condemnation, calling the shrine a "spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarism" and a "war criminals' shrine." Beijing lodged solemn representations and a strong protest with Japan, warning that such actions sought to whitewash wartime crimes and pave the way for remilitarisation.