South Korea's foreign minister has canceled a trip to Japan after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made an offering to a shrine seen as a symbol of Japan's former militarism, a South Korean government official said on Monday, April 22, according to Reuters.
Abe, an outspoken nationalist, on Sunday made a ritual offering of a pine tree to the Yasukuni shrine where 14 Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal are honored, along with other war dead.
He did not visit the shrine but two Japanese ministers and a deputy chief cabinet secretary did visit it on the weekend.
Such gestures upset Asian victims of Japan's war-time aggression, including China and South Korea.
"We are disappointed," said a South Korean government official who declined to be identified. "Through a diplomatic channel, we sent a message several times that we did not want any visit to the shrine before our minister's trip," said the official.
South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se had aimed to discuss the direction of bilateral relations with his Japanese counterpart during his planned visit, the official said.
"It is now almost impossible to have a constructive conversation," the official said, referring to the decision to cancel the trip.
For Koreans, the shrine is a reminder of Japan's brutal colonial rule from 1910-1945. China, which also suffered under Japanese occupation, also takes offence when Japanese leaders pay their respects at the shrine.
