(VOVworld) - Japan’s defense minister Tomomi Inada visited the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo early on Thursday, one day after the Pearl Harbor visit by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The shrine honors Japan’s war dead, including convicted war criminals.

Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada visits Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japanese war dead, in Tokyo Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016. (Photo: Reuters)

This is Inada’s first visit to the shrine since she took the office in August. Japan’s Defense Ministry has made no comment yet about the visit.

South Korea’s foreign ministry described the event as “beyond deplorable” while the country’s defense ministry expressed "serious concern and regret."

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying, said Beijing strongly rejected Inada’s visit to the shrine, stressing that China once again urges Japan to listen to the calls for justice, reflect upon its history of aggression, honor its pledges and deal with relevant problems with a responsible attitude towards history and the future.

Visits to the shrine by Japanese officials routinely anger China and South Korea.