Government says Japan is "disappointed and regretful" over Takaichi Yasukuni's tribute

On the 17th, the government expressed regret over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's offering of tribute to Yasukuni Shrine.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement through a spokesperson that day, "We once again express deep disappointment and regret that Japan's responsible leaders have once again offered tribute or visited the Yasukuni Shrine, which glorifies Japan's past wars of aggression and enshrines war criminals."

He added, "We urge Japan's responsible leaders to face history squarely and demonstrate humble reflection and true reflection on the past through actions. We once again emphasize that this is an important foundation for building a future-oriented Korea-Japan relationship based on trust between countries and people."

On this day, Prime Minister Takaichi celebrated the Yasukuni Shrine's annual fall festival by dedicating an offering called 'Masakaki' in the name of 'Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi'.

Yasukuni Shrine commemorates the souls of over 2.466 million people who died in the civil war that took place in Japan before and after the Meiji Restoration and in the numerous wars waged by Japan.

Among them, about 2,133,000, or close to 90%, are related to the Pacific War, and in particular, Class A war criminals from the Pacific War, including former Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, who were executed according to the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo Trial), are enshrined.