Seoul 15 August : South Korea on Monday expressed deep regret over Japanese PM Fumio Kishhida’s ritual sacrifice to an unpopular war shrine on the occasion of a major anniversary only hours after President Yoon Suk-yeol pleaded for the improvement of the frayed connections.Kishida made the offer to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo earlier in the day.His Cabinet ministers also visited the shrine, which they see as an emblem of Japan’s past military according to Yonhap News Agency.
August 15 marks the date of Japan’s surrender in World War II and is celebrated in Korea as the country declares its independence from Japan’s colonial rule.
“The government expresses its deep disappointment and regret that the responsible officials of Japan’s parliament and government returned to send the offering or made repeated visit to the Yasukuni Shrine,” South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
South Korea also urged Japanese leaders to confront the past and show their humble reflection and self-reflection with actions for the past.
Yasukuni Shrine in central Tokyo is a shrine to 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including 14 Class A criminals who died in World War II.
The shrine’s visits by Japanese leaders have been a major cause of tension in the region.Asian neighbors, such as South Korea and China that were victims of Japanese aggressiveness in the early years of the 20th century see these visits as an effort to enhance the country’s military past.
South Korea and Japan are close economic partners and important allies of the US although they have been in disputes over territory as well as other disputes that stem of Japan’s colonial dominance of the Korean Peninsula.
On Monday, Yoon said South Korea and Japan should help to promote prosperity and peace in the world community by working together in the security, economic and social fields based on mutual understanding.
“We should swiftly and effectively improve the relationship between Korea and Japan by adhering to the spirit of the Kim Dae-jung Obuchi Declaration,” he said, in reference to a 1998 joint declaration calling to overcome the past while creating new relationships.
