Former president Lee Teng-hui (
Lee's elder brother was one of tens of thousands of Taiwanese drafted into the Japanese military during colonial rule. He was killed in 1945 while serving with the Japanese navy during World War II.
The Yasukuni shrine lists him among the 2.5 million war dead it honors, including Japanese leaders executed for war crimes.
Lee's visit drew a sharp rebuke from Beijing, with China reiterating its "strong dissatisfaction" with Japan just hours after the visit.
"From what Lee Teng-hui has done in Japan it is clear what his intentions are. We again express our strong dissatisfaction with the Japanese side for allowing Lee Teng-hui to visit Japan," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu (
Lee denied making a political statement by visiting the shrine.
He said his visit was a "private, family event."
"I hope you would not associate it with politics or history," he said in televised comments prior to his visit.
"He was my only brother and we were very close," Lee said in a teary voice. "He left [for the war] 62 years ago and my family has no memento of him, no remains, not even a hair. He exists only at Yasukuni."
Supporters of Lee, who was educated in Japan and led Taiwan from 1988 to 2000, shouted "banzai" [long life] when he arrived at the Shinto shrine's massive, tree-lined complex in central Tokyo.
Some waved Japanese flags and some shouted "Taiwan forever."
Lee entered Yasukuni's inner hall and prayed, a shrine spokesman said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol. Lee refused to talk to reporters after the pilgrimage.
Lee arrived in Japan last Wednesday for an 11-day visit.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Lee's visit is private and that he does not expect it to hurt Tokyo's relations with Beijing.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said yesterday that the Japanese government "will not comment on the actions of a private individual."
Officials in Taipei also played down the importance of the Yasukuni trip.
"Mr Lee is now a civilian. We respect his personal decision, and this has nothing to do with the government," Foreign Minister James Huang (黃志芳) said.
Yasukuni Shrine is one of a number of sources of contention between China and Japan, along with disputes over exploration of underwater gas and differing interpretations of wartime history.
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