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Seoul rattled by Japanese PM offering to war shrine

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent an offering last month to a Tokyo war shrine at the crux of diplomatic tensions with China and South Korea, a shrine official said yesterday.

The offering -- apparently Abe's first direct show of respect to the Yasukuni shrine since taking office last year -- was accompanied by a card prepared by the shrine that read "the prime minister," said the shrine spokeswoman, who declined to be named, citing policy.

`regrettable'

South Korea's foreign ministry reacted angrily to the move, calling it "very regrettable" and "running counter to establishing a correct perception of history, which serves as a basis for regional peace and stability."

Abe has worked hard to mend relations with Japan's neighbors that were ruptured by his predecessor's repeated visits to Yasukuni shrine. Chinese and South Korean leaders have repeatedly pressed him not to visit it as a demonstration of Japan's remorse for its brutal colonization of their countries in the first half of the last century.

The shrine honors Japan's 2.5 million war dead and is vilified by critics at home and abroad as symbolizing Japan's militaristic past. Class-A war criminals executed for their role in World War II were enshrined there in 1978.

Abe, an ardent nationalist, has regularly prayed at Yasukuni in the past and reportedly made a secret trip as chief Cabinet secretary just before the shrine's main spring festival last year.

The shrine has long been a source of tension between Japan and the neighbors it colonized. Beijing and Seoul refused to hold summits with Abe's predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, after he repeatedly visited the shrine.

The last time the shrine received a similar offering from a sitting prime minister was during the 1982 to 1987 administration of prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, the shrine spokeswoman said.

Abe sent the offering for Yasukuni shrine's annual Spring Festival, held from April 21 through April 23, she said.

personal funds

The offering -- a type of plant commonly used at Shinto shrines -- was valued at ?50,000 (US$416), Kyodo News agency reported, citing unnamed government and shrine officials. Abe reportedly paid for it using personal funds, Kyodo said.

Top government spokesman Yasuhisa Shiozaki told reporters he was aware of media reports about the offering, but had not heard directly from Abe about it.

"The government," he said, "will refrain from commenting on a matter that involves the thoughts and feelings of the prime minister as a private citizen."

Abe refused to discuss whether he planned to visit the shrine ahead of this year's spring festival, amid media reports he would likely stay away until at least July in a bid to improve ties with China.
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