|
 The shrine is seen by critics such as China, parts of which were
occupied by Japan before and during World War Two, and South Korea,
where bitter memories of Japan's 1910-1945 colonization persist, as
a symbol of Japan's past militarism, because it honors wartime
leaders convicted by an Allied tribunal as war criminals along with
millions of war dead.
A group of Japanese lawmakers paid their respects at the shrine on
Friday, the beginning of an autumn festival, while Abe sent a small
masakaki tree, Reuters witnesses said.
There was no sign of cabinet ministers, although NHK public
television said Health Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki sent an offering.
A ruling party lawmaker tweeted that three ministers planned to
visit on Saturday.
China expressed "serious concern" after Abe's offering.
"China reiterates that only by Japan earnestly and squarely facing,
deeply reflecting upon its history of invasion and clearly
distancing itself from militarism, can China-Japan relations realize
healthy and stable development," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman
Hong Lei said in a statement.
South Korea said it deplored Abe's offering to the shrine, which it
called "the symbol of glorification of Japan's colonization and
invasive war".
"Japan should move forward to a bright future based on serious
reflection on the past, not locking itself in the dark past," South
Korea's foreign ministry spokesman said.
Expectations have been growing in Japan that Abe, who outraged
Beijing and Seoul by visiting Yasukuni in person in December 2013,
will be able to meet Xi for ice-breaking talks next month at an
Asia-Pacific leaders' summit in Beijing.
Signs of a thaw have been growing as both sides recognize that the
chill was bad for business in the world's second- and third-biggest
economies and raised the risk of an unintended clash that could
escalate militarily.
Prospects for a leaders' meeting, however, are clouded by China's
demand for a signal that Abe not make another pilgrimage to the
shrine.
"AGREE TO DISAGREE"?
A public promise not to pay his respects at Yasukuni again would be
impossible for Abe, whose conservative agenda includes recasting
Japan's wartime history in a less apologetic tone.
Abe has said he visited the shrine not to glorify war, but to honor
those who fought and died for their country.
But he has stayed away from the shrine since his 2013 visit, instead
sending offerings on key dates, seeking to tread a fine line between
his conservative convictions and the diplomatic imperative to
improve ties with China.
[to top of second column]
|
Koichi Hagiuda, a ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) aide to Abe,
told Reuters this month that the prime minister could put off a
visit if he judged it was in Japan's national interests. Hagiuda
also said Abe, now in Milan for a meeting of Asian and European
leaders, was likely to refrain from visiting in person ahead of the
November gathering in Beijing.
In further signs of a possible thaw, Abe and Chinese premier Li
Keqiang shook hands and exchanged greetings at a dinner in Milan,
the first time they have spoken directly.
China also wants Japan to acknowledge the existence of a territorial
dispute over tiny islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan
but claimed by Beijing, according to Japanese lawmakers recently in
Beijing.
Japanese diplomatic experts ruled out such a move but said it was
possible the two sides could find a diplomatic formula to "agree to
disagree" over the uninhabited islands, known as the Senkaku in
Japan and the Diaoyu in China.
A slowing Chinese economy and a sharp drop in Japanese investment
are main factors prompting China to rethink its relations with
Japan, experts said.
Lower tension would also benefit Japanese companies doing business
in China, while a meeting with Xi would be a feather in Abe's
diplomatic cap. Abe has traveled to about 50 countries since taking
office, but has been unable to meet Chinese or South Korean leaders
during that time.
Abe has also signaled that he wants to meet South Korean President
Park Geun-hye at the Nov. 10-11 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
leaders summit. But persistent disputes over the legacy of Japan's
colonization of the Korean peninsula have cast doubts over such a
meeting.
(Reporting by Linda Sieg; Editing by Dean Yates, Nick Macfie and
Clarence Fernandez)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
