More than 100 Japanese lawmakers on Wednesday paid homage at the Yasukuni war shrine, risking fresh anger from Asian neighbours that were victims of Tokyo's 20th century aggression, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe began a 10-day diplomatic push. A cross-section of parliamentarians visited the shrine in central Tokyo as part of the spring festival, an AFP journalist witnessed. A total of 106 lawmakers were there, the group said, however no cabinet ministers were seen among them.
The shrine honours those who fought and died for Japan, but also includes a number of senior military and political figures convicted of the most serious war crimes. "I feel very grateful anew that we have maintained peace for 70 years," said Hidehisa Otsuji, a lawmaker with the conservative ruling liberal Democratic Party (lDP), who leads the group. "The souls (of the dead) must also be pleased with this." The number of lawmakers who visited the shrine was lower than at both the spring and the autumn festivals last year, Otsuji said.