Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will probably not visit war-linked Yasukuni Shrine during the spring festival in late April to avoid marring the upcoming summit with U.S. President Barack Obama, sources close to him said Thursday.
Instead of visiting the controversial Shinto facility during its Annual Spring Festival from April 21 to 23, Abe is expected to send over a "masakaki" tree offering as he did last spring, the sources said.
Abe last visited the Tokyo shrine on Dec. 26, the first anniversary of his taking office, angering Beijing and Seoul, which view it as a symbol of Japan's past militarist aggression. In a rare response, Washington — Tokyo's closest ally — said it was "disappointed" by Abe's visit.