A total of 147 lawmakers, as well as two Cabinet ministers, visited the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine on Tuesday morning, in a move that could be perceived as provocative by China, South Korea — and even the United States.
Internal affairs minister Yoshitaka Shindo visited the shrine ahead of the group Tuesday, the second day of its annual three-day spring religious festival, in what he called a "private" capacity, following another private visit April 12.
Shindo's first visit was seen as an attempt to avoid controversy ahead of the planned visit by U.S. President Barack Obama, who was scheduled to arrive in Tokyo on Wednesday.