Japan marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II under criticism from China and South Korea, which said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe failed to properly apologise for Tokyo’s past aggression. In a move likely to further strain relations, a trio of cabinet ministers visited Yasukuni shrine, which neighbouring countries see as a symbol of Tokyo’s militarist past.
His remarks were welcomed by the US but blasted by China as a non-apology, while Pyongyang derided it as “an unpardonable mockery of Korean people”.