Japan marked the 80th anniversary of its World War Two defeat, with at least one cabinet minister joining thousands of visitors at a shrine that Japan's Asian neighbours view as a symbol of its wartime aggression.
Shinchiro Koizumi, Japan's agriculture minister and a contender in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership race last year, arrived at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo early this morning, local media reported.
Among the 2.5 million war dead commemorated at the shrine are 14 wartime leaders convicted of the most serious war crimes, along with over 1,000 others found guilty by Allied tribunals after Japan's 1945 defeat.
China and South Korea have criticised past visits by senior Japanese officials that they say gloss over Japan's wartime actions and damage diplomatic ties.
Supporters say the shrine honours all of Japan’s war dead, regardless of their roles.
No sitting Japanese prime minister has visited the shrine since Shinzo Abe in December 2013, drawing an expression of disappointment from then-US President Barack Obama.
The last premier to visit on the anniversary of Japan's surrender was Mr Koizumi's father, Junichiro Koizumi, in 2006.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent an offering to the shrine, Kyodo News reported. Another offering he made in October provoked criticism from both South Korea and China.
Mr Ishiba is expected to meet South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung when he visits Japan from 23-24 August to discuss regional security and trilateral ties with the US.
While relations between Japan and South Korea have often been strained, in recent years the two countries have deepened security cooperation to counter China's growing influence and the threat posed to both by nuclear-armed North Korea.
Mr Koizumi was joined at Yasukuni by Takayuki Kobayashi, local media reported. A former economic security minister, he also ran in last year's LDP leadership election.
As many as 60 national and local politicians from Japan's far-right Sanseito Party are also expected at Yasukuni. The 'Japanese First' party wants to curb immigration, which it says is a threat to Japanese culture.
In July's upper house election, it won 13 new seats, drawing support away from Mr Ishiba's LDP.
