What is Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, linked to Japan’s wartime atrocities?

About 2.5 million people, including Japanese war criminals who fought for the country, are enshrined at Yasukuni.

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Takayuki Kobayashi, a senior executive of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, visited the war-linked Yasukuni shrine on Sunday,

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday stayed away from the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, apparently to prioritize diplomatic relations with China and South Korea, as Japan marked the 81st anniversary of its surrender in World War II.Takaichi mourned the victims of major devastation in Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Oki

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has stayed away from Tokyo’s controversial Yasukuni Shrine as the country marks the 81st anniversary of its World War II surrender

Japan's Takaichi skips controversial Yasukuni Shrine visit on anniversary of World War II surrender  AP News

Japan defence minister visits contentious Yasukuni Shrine to war dead  Reuters

There had been speculation that Sanae Takaichi, a regular visitor before becoming Japan's prime minister in October 2025, might visit the shrine like then-premier Shinzo Abe had done in 2013.

PoliticsPrime minister avoids visit while cabinet members pay tribute to war criminal-linked shrineDoves are released as a symbol of peace at Yasukuni Shrine for the war dead in Tokyo on Aug. 15, marking the 81st anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II. © ReutersAugust 15, 2026 11:22 JSTTOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japane

Those paying respects included Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi — a regular visitor — and senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Saturday sent a ritual offering to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, while the country’s defence chief Shinjiro Koizumi visited the site as Japan marks the 81st anniversary of the end of the second world war. Sources have said Takaichi, a conservative, is likely to re

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent an offering to a war shrine seen as a symbol of Japan's imperialistic past Saturday to mark the country's 1945 surrender in World War II. Takaichi sent the offering to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine in her capacity as president of the Liberal Democratic Party without visiting the sh