Japanese cabinet minister Jin Matsubara on Wednesday visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, seen by neighbouring nations as a symbol of the country's militaristic past.
Matsubara went to the shrine, where 2.5 million war dead -- including 14 leading Japanese war criminals from World War II -- are honoured on the 67th anniversary of Japan's surrender, an AFP photographer witnessed.
The visit around 8:00 am (2300 GMT) came as Japan's diplomatic relations with South Korea and China become increasingly tense, as territorial rows intertwine with emotional nationalistic sentiment.
Matsubara holds three ministerial portfolios: chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, consumers affairs minister, and minister in charge of dealing with the issue of Japanese kidnapped by North Korean agents.
He is the first minister to openly visit the shrine on August 15 since the centre-left Democratic Party of Japan came to power three years ago, when it ousted the long-ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japanese-cabinet-minister-visits-yasukuni-shrine-232845417.html
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