South Korea expresses regret as Japan leaders pay tribute to wartime shrine

TOKYO: South Korea expressed deep regret on Monday after dozens of Japanese lawmakers visited a shrine for war dead, which Seoul and Beijing see as a symbol of Tokyo's wartime militarism, on the anniversary of Japan's World War Two defeat.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering but did not personally go to the Yasukuni Shrine. Visits to the shrine outrage Japan's Asian neighbours because it honours 14 Japanese leaders convicted by an Allied tribunal as war criminals, along with war dead.

Ties between China and Japan, Asia's two largest economies, have been strained in recent days after a growing number of Chinese coastguard and other government ships sailed near disputed islets in the East China Sea.

Territory disputes and historical issues also periodically chill relations between Japan and South Korea.

"(We) express deep concern and regret that responsible political leaders ... are again paying tribute to the Yasukuni Shrine that glorifies the history of the war of aggression," South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said a morning visit by South Korean lawmakers to a disputed set of islands, known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, was "extremely regrettable" and that Japan would protest strongly.

Abe has not visited the shrine in person since December 2013, sending ritual offerings instead.

"He told me to come and my visit was out of respect to those who gave their lives for the country," said Yasutoshi Nishimura, an aide in Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who gave the offering in Abe's name as LDP president rather than premier.

New Defence Minister Tomomi Inada, who has been accused by China of recklessly misrepresenting history after she declined to say whether Japanese troops massacred civilians in China during World War Two, was visiting troops in Djibouti and unable able to go to the shrine as she has in the past.

Emperor's "Deep remorse"

Emperor Akihito, speaking at a ceremony honouring victims of the war, expressed "deep remorse" over the conflict fought in the name of his father, Hirohito. He first used the phrase at the memorial service last year on the 70th anniversary of the war's end. Some saw it as a subtle rebuke to the conservative Abe, who favours a less apologetic tone.

"Reflecting on our past with a feeling of deep remorse, I earnestly hope the ravages of war will never be repeated," said Akihito, 82. The emperor hinted in a rare video address last week at wanting to abdicate in a few years.

Abe vowed at the same ceremony that Japan would work for world peace.

"Going forward, and sticking to this firm pledge while facing history with humility, we will make every effort to contribute to world peace and prosperity and the realization of a world where everyone can live without fear," he said.

Among the roughly 70 lawmakers who visited the Shrine were Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi and Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa.