Japan’s premier sends offering to controversial Tokyo shrine

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
The Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has donated religious offerings to a Tokyo shrine viewed by Chinese and Koreans as a symbol of Japanese wartime aggression. Kishida did not visit Yasukuni Shrine, but donated “masakaki” religious ornaments to mark the shrine’s autumn festival. It was the first such observance by Kishida since he took office on Oct. 4. Victims of Japanese aggression during the first half of the 20th century, especially the Koreas and China, see the shrine as a symbol of Japan’s militarism because it honors convicted World War II criminals. Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, whose departure opened the way for Kishida’s government, prayed at the shrine Sunday.