Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided not to visit war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo during its annual spring festival from April 21 to 23, a government source said Monday.

Abe, who will be in Indonesia attending the Asian-African Conference in Bandung on April 22 and 23, plans to again send a ritual Shinto offering to the shrine, the source said, a move nevertheless expected to infuriate China and South Korea, which suffered from Japan's wartime aggression and view the shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism.

Abe has apparently decided against another Yasukuni visit because his behavior is likely to be under close scrutiny this year, which marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Still, by dedicating a "masakaki" tree offering, he also hopes to appease conservative supporters who want him to pay homage to Yasukuni.