Amid ongoing tensions between China and Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has made a ritual offering to the Yasukuni Shrine.
According to Japanese media reports, on the 21st, Takaichi offered an item known as 'masakaki' to the Yasukuni Shrine in Kudankita, Tokyo, which had begun its spring annual festival, under the title 'Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.'
Relevant sources indicated that she will not visit the Yasukuni Shrine before the spring festival ends on the 23rd. In the past, when Takaichi served as a cabinet member, she would visit the Yasukuni Shrine during the Anniversary of the End of the War and the spring and autumn festivals.
Until last October's autumn festival, before assuming the post of prime minister, she stopped visiting and instead, in the name of President of the Liberal Democratic Party, paid for a ritual 'tamagushi' offering out of her own pocket. Successive prime ministers have all made 'harusakaki' offerings at the festival but have not prayed in person.
Since Takaichi's statement regarding 'a Taiwan contingency' in November last year, China-Japan relations have entered a vicious cycle, with heightened military tensions.
The Yasukuni Shrine is located in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, and enshrines 14 Class-A war criminals from World War II, including Hideki Tojo. For a long time, some Japanese politicians and members of parliament have insisted on visiting the Yasukuni Shrine and offering ritual items, resulting in tensions between Japan and Asian countries including China and South Korea.
The late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine on December 26, 2013, causing China-Japan relations to hit a new low.