Donation from Japanese Prime Minister to controversial temple: China stood up

According to the Kyodo agency, a potted "sacred Masakaki flower" was sent to the Shinto shrine in the capital Tokyo on behalf of Prime Minister Takaiçi's office for the beginning of the autumn festival.

Sources close to the Prime Ministry stated that Takaiçi did not plan to visit the temple as part of the three-day festival.

Kiuchi Minoru, Japan's Cabinet Member for Economic and Financial Policies, visited the temple.

In his statement to journalists after the visit, Kiuchi said, "I bowed respectfully to the souls of the heroes who sacrificed their precious lives for the sake of the nation and reiterated my commitment to reject the war."

In the statement made by the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo, it was stated that the Beijing administration strongly condemned Japan's "negative steps" regarding the temple and stated that the temple visits "paved the way for Japan's re-militarization".

Yasukuni Shrine, built in 1869, became controversial in 1978 when temple monks decreed as "sacred" 14 A-Class World War II war criminals whose graves were located there.

High-level visits to the temple, which is seen as a "symbol of Japan's past militarism" in neighboring countries such as China and South Korea, cause reactions in these countries.