Su Chin-chiang, a Taiwanese member of a proindependence party who visited Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine earlier this week, said the Class-A war criminals enshrined there have paid for their crimes with their deaths.
Su made the remark Monday in Tokyo, hours after visiting the shrine. He is chairman of the Taiwan Solidarity Union, an opposition party and occasional strategic partner of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
"The purpose (of visiting Yasukuni) was to express my respect for the sense of loyalty of the people who sacrificed themselves for their country," Su said.