UPDATE - Japan PM sends war shrine offering on WWII anniversary

UPDATES TO ADD SOUTH KOREA RESPONSE

TOKYO (AA) – Japan’s premier sent a ritual offering Monday to a war-linked shrine visited by two cabinet members on the 71st anniversary of the end of World War II, drawing criticism from South Korea over Tokyo’s approach toward its militarist past.

According to local news agency Kyodo, Shinzo Abe avoided visiting Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine given such a move’s potential negative impact on relations with neighbors South Korea and China.

World War II ended on Aug. 15, 1945 after Japan surrendered following the United States’ dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- bombings that left more than 200,000 people dead by the end of the year.

The Yasukuni Shrine has been a source of tension between Japan and its neighbors, as it honors 14 war criminals convicted by the Allies in the trials that followed the war.

Two cabinet members -- Sanae Takaichi, internal affairs minister, and Tamayo Marukawa, minister in charge of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics -- visited the shrine Monday, but newly appointed Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, known for her regular visits, was absent on a trip to Djibouti.

South Korea responded to the visits by expressing "deep concerns and regrets", according to the country’s Yonhap news agency.

In a statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck criticized “the fact that responsible politicians from the Japanese government and parliament made monetary offerings to or paid respects at the Yasukuni Shrine that glorifies Japan's history of invasion".

"We urge Japanese politicians to bravely face history and actively seek to regain the trust of the neighboring countries by showing their humble reflection of and repentance for Japan's past through action," he added.

During his speech at a ceremony marking the anniversary, PM Abe said Japan would “contribute to world peace and prosperity by humbly facing history”.

Kyodo also quoted Emperor Akihito, 82, expressing "deep remorse" over the war, as well as his wish for world peace.

Abe's speeches in past ceremonies had drawn criticism from China and South Korea for not mentioning Japan's past “imperial aggression” in Asia.

The premier had visited Yasukuni in December 2013, in a move also criticized by the U.S. as it wants Tokyo and Seoul to set aside their historical grievances in order to cooperate more fully in the defense of Northeast Asia.

Concerns have also been expressed in neighboring countries as Abe has been working toward expanding the role of Japan’s self-defense forces after his cabinet decided in 2014 to re-interpret the country’s pacifist post-WWII constitution.