# Japan’s Defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi has visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine as the country marked the 81st anniversary of its surrender in World War Two. The shrine honours about 2.5-million Japanese war casualties, including 14 wartime leaders convicted of serious war crimes. China and South Korea both said such visits whitewash Japan’s wartime aggression and harm diplomatic ties. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi did not attend but sent a ritual offering. No sitting Japanese prime minister has visited Yasukuni Shrine since Shinzo Abe in 2013, when he was criticised by then President Barack Obama for doing so.
Japan defence minister visits contentious Yasukuni Shrine on anniversary of WW2 surrender