Japan PM Kishida sends offering to notorious war-linked Yasukuni Shrine

TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sent a ritual offering to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine on Thursday, as the country marked the 79th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.

Kishida dedicated the Tamakushi fees to the shrine, a symbol of Japan's past brutal militarism, in his capacity as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

It came a day after Kishida took the public by surprise by announcing that he would not run in the ruling party's presidential race next month, ready to step down as prime minister after three years in power.

While Kishida has not visited the notorious shrine in person, several LDP lawmakers, including Shinjiro Koizumi, a former environment minister and son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, on Thursday visited the shrine to pay homage.

The Yasukuni Shrine, located in central Tokyo, honors 14 convicted Class-A Japanese war criminals from World War II. It has long been a source of diplomatic friction for Japan and its neighbors.

Visits and ritual offerings made by Japanese officials to the controversial shrine have consistently sparked criticism and hurt the feelings of the people of China, South Korea and other countries brutalized by Japan during the war.