Despite much speculation, new Defense Minister Tomomi Inada is not expected to visit war-linked Yasukuni Shrine on Monday, the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, in an apparent effort to avoid offending Beijing and Seoul.

Inada has espoused revisionist views of Japan's wartime history, and the two neighbors, past victims of Japan's 20th century militarism, were alarmed by her appointment last month.

Inada did not explicitly say she would stay away; rather, it will be impossible for her to visit the Shinto facility, which is regarded as a symbol of Japan's wartime militarism and honors Class-A war criminals such as Hideki Tojo along with Japan's war dead.