TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio made a ritual offering of a “masakaki” tree stand to war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Sunday, when the Shinto shrine’s two-day autumn festival started.

Kishida, who took office Oct. 4, is expected to skip a visit to the shrine during the festival, apparently to avoid impacts on Japan’s diplomatic relations with China and South Korea, both of which regard the shrine as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism as it honors Class-A war criminals along with the war dead.

It is also believed that Kishida is giving consideration to Komeito, the coalition partner of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party, ahead of the Oct. 31 general election for the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament.

Komeito is cautious about senior government officials visiting Yasukuni Shrine. The official campaign period for the closely watched election is set to start Tuesday.

The last time a sitting Japanese prime minister visited the shrine was December 2013, when Shinzo Abe paid a visit.

It is the first time for Kishida to make a masakaki offering to the shrine, according to informed sources.

Among Kishida cabinet members, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Shigeyuki Goto and Kenji Wakamiya, minister for the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, western Japan, also offered masakaki to the shrine.

No Kishida cabinet minister was confirmed to have visited the shrine Sunday.

On the day, Hidehisa Otsuji of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who heads a suprapartisan group of lawmakers promoting Yasukuni Shrine visits, and others paid a visit to the shrine, representing members of the group.

Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also visited the shrine. Suga told reporters later that he prayed for the souls of those honored at the shrine.

JIJI Press