He is due to hold talks with China and South Korea in the coming weeks, countries that bore the brunt of Japanese military aggression in the 20th century.
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The South Korean government says Abe’s offering is the same as glorifying Japan’s past colonization of the Korean Peninsula.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday made a ritual offering to the controversial Yasukuni war shrine seen by neighbouring countries as a symbol of Tokyo’s militarist past.
Abe had sent “masakaki” trees to the Yasukuni Shrine for the spring festival this year as well as the spring and autumn festivals in 2014.
Takaichi told reporters the visit was meant to express her heartfelt gratitude to those who sacrificed themselves for Japan and it is “a matter that has nothing to do with diplomatic relations”.
In a signal the Japanese navy’s growing role in Asia will be accompanied by the US fleet’s wider engagement in the region, the U.S. Navy sent Vice Admiral Nora Tyson commander of the powerful Eastern Pacific Third Fleet to join Abe on his ship. “I came here to renew my thoughts for peace”.
The Japanese move “runs counter to our efforts to improve relations with Japan through a trilateral summit with China”, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its website.
Abe is preparing to meet on November 1 with his Chinese and South Korean counterparts for their first trilateral talks since 2012.
Beijing, which has strained ties with several Southeast Asian countries over territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea, has said it is wary of Japan’s changing defence posture.
Authorities at the Yasukuni Shrine said the offering was presented under the name of the prime minister.
In 2013, Abe paid his respects at the shrine.
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Scores of conservative lawmakers, possibly including cabinet ministers, are expected to go to the shrine to mark the autumn festival on Tuesday.
