Japan's prime minister sends an offering to the Yasukuni war shrine, and Seoul expresses regret

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent an offering of evergreen twigs on Saturday for the start of the shrine's three-day autumn festival, as her predecessors did, but is not expected to visit in person.

Class-A war criminals enshrined

14 war criminals

The Tokyo shrine honours about 2.46 million war dead, including 14 Class-A war criminals convicted after the Second World War, and neighbours see it as a symbol of Japan's militarist past.

South Korea's foreign ministry said it "once again expresses deep disappointment and regret" and urged Japan's leaders to "face history squarely."

— South Korea's foreign ministry

Background

The last visit by a sitting Japanese prime minister was by Shinzo Abe in December 2013; a cross-party group of lawmakers plans to visit on Monday.