Japanese prime minister visits Yasukuni war shrine [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By KEN MORITSUGU

TOKYO (AP) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid his respects Thursday at a shrine honoring Japan's war dead in a move that drew a quick rebuke from China warning that the visit celebrated Japan's military attacks on its neighboring countries.

The visit to the shrine, which honors 2.5 million war dead including convicted class A war criminals, appears to be a departure from Abe's "pragmatic" approach to foreign policy, in which he tried to avoid alienating neighboring countries.

It was the first visit by a sitting prime minister since Junichiro Koizumi went to mark the end of World War II in 2006.

Visits to Yasukuni by Japanese politicians have long been a point of friction with China and South Korea, because of Japan's brutal aggression during World War II.

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Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20131226/DAATQON80.html

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, second from right, follows a Shinto priest to pay respect for the war dead at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo Thursday, Dec. 26, 2013. Abe visited Yasukuni war shrine in a move sure to infuriate China and South Korea. The visit to the shrine, which honors 2.5 million war dead including convicted class A war criminals, appears to be a departure from Abe’s “pragmatic” approach to foreign policy, in which he tried to avoid alienating neighboring countries. It was the first visit by a sitting prime minister since Junichiro Koizumi went to mark the end of World War II in 2006. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)