Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent an offering to a shrine for the war dead on Saturday, the 70th anniversary of Japan's World War II defeat, but had not made a personal visit to the shrine, seen in China and South Korea as a symbol of Tokyo's wartime militarism.
Abe sent a cash offering of his own money, his aide, Koichi Hagiuda, a lawmaker in Abe's Liberal Democratic Party, told reporters after visiting the shrine.
"I paid respects to the souls of those who sacrificed their precious lives in the past war," Hagiuda said, explaining that he conveyed the offering on behalf of Abe in connection with the prime minister's role as head of the LDP.