On Thursday two ministers and several parliament members visited a cnotroversial war shrine. The shine is seen as a symbol of Japan's militarism during World War II and also commemorates those who died during the war, including 14 wartime leaders who were convicted of war crimes. On Wednesday Japan's main opposition party leader, Shinzo Abe, also visited the shrine; it is widely thought that Abe is likely to succeed current prime minister Yoshihiko Noda. The recent visits have been sharply criticized by China's Xinhua news agency and strains the relations between China and Japan even further. Previous visits to the shrine have also been criticized by China and North and South Korea. Japan's chief cabinet spokesman dowplayed the significance of the two most recentvisits and Land minister Yuichiro Hata, one of the two who most recently visited the shrine, said "it won't be a big diplomatic problem." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei disagreed with Hata's remarks.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/18/us-japan-yasukuni-idUSBRE89H0BJ20121018
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/10/2012101875657283722.html
DJ Willey
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