(VOVworld) – The Republic of Korea’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe acted contrary to efforts to improve relations between the two nations by sending an offering to the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo.

A wooden sign which reads “Prime Minister Shinzo Abe” is seen on a ritual offering,  a masakaki tree, from Abe to the Yasukuni Shrine. (Photo: Reuters)

The ministry also criticized Japanese cabinet ministers for paying respects to the war shrine. The ministry statement said the visits and offerings are “nothing but attempts to whitewash Japan’s colonial usurpation and war of aggression” and that the moves “contradict” efforts by the Republic of Korea to improve relations with Japan through actions such as arranging a trilateral summit with China. It added that only if Japan acknowledges history and shows a humble reflection through its actions is it possible to achieve the stable relations the people of Korea and Japan wish for.
The shrine commemorates millions of Japan’s war dead, including leaders convicted as Class A war criminals.