Takaichi risks China's wrath with offering to Yasukuni Shrine
www.japantimes.co.jp

... Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made an offering to a shrine seen by Japan's neighbors as glorifying its wartime past, in a move that stops short of a visit but may still anger China and other neighboring nations.

Takaichi's offering of a sacred tree was made on the first day of a traditional spring festival at Yasukuni Shrine, according to local media, and is in line with similar moves by her predecessors, Shigeru Ishiba and Fumio Kishida, during their time in office. While her decision not to go to the shrine showed her more cautious stance on the issue, the leader of a party in Takaichi's ruling coalition visited the shrine on Tuesday, according to the Nikkei newspaper.

"My understanding is that Prime Minister Takaichi made an offering in a personal capacity, so we as the government are not in a position to comment on the matter," Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said in a regular news briefing on Tuesday. Kihara didn't comment on the reported visit by Fumitake Fujita, co-leader of the Japan Innovation Party.

Tensions between Tokyo and Beijing remain strained following Takaichi's suggestion in parliament last year that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could constitute a legal justification for Japan to send troops. The comments triggered a backlash from China including trade curbs and travel warnings, putting the two Asian economies at loggerheads for months on issues spanning defense, diplomacy and the economy.

The latest offering may irritate China and other neighbors who see the shrine as a symbol of Japan's past militarism, but the move shows that Takaichi has chosen to stay in line with the approach taken by Japanese leaders over the past decade to avoid stoking regional tensions. ...