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A woman claps her hands before Yasukuni Shrine, where Class-A war criminals are enshrined, on April 21. On the left-hand side, red ribbons of the “masakaki” ritual offering from Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are visible. (Yonhap News)

On Thursday, the South Korean government expressed its “deep disappointment and regret” concerning the fact that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sent ritual offerings to Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, where Class-A war criminals of the Pacific War are enshrined.

Through the “Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson’s Commentary on Sending Offerings to and Paying Respects as Yasukuni Shrine” released the same day, the South Korean government expressed “deep disappointment and regret over the fact that responsible leaders of Japan have once again sent offerings to and paid respects at the Yasukuni Shrine which glorifies Japan’s war of aggression and enshrines war criminals.”

The commentary did not specifically mention who these “responsible leaders of Japan” were.

The South Korean government added that it “strongly urges the leaders of Japan to squarely face history, and demonstrate through action their humble reflection and sincere remorse for Japan’s past history.”

Earlier in the day, Japanese media such as Kyodo News reported that Kishida had sent a ritual offering called a “masakaki” to Yasukuni Shrine on Thursday, the first day of the shrine’s spring festival.

Among current Japanese Cabinet members, Health Minister Shigeyuki Goto also sent a “masasaki” offering, while Sanae Takaichi, policy chief of the current ruling Liberal Democratic Party, paid a visit to the shrine.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]