In a rare move, Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his entire Cabinet opted not to visit Yasukuni Shrine on Sunday, the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II, avoiding a ritual that has become a constant source of friction with South Korea and China.
It is the first time in nearly 30 years that the Cabinet has declined to visit the Shinto shrine on Aug. 15.
The shrine in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, served as Japan's spiritual pillar for the war. It honors the nation's 2.47 million war dead and convicted Class A war criminals. Visits by high-ranking politicians started drawing public attention in the 1980s, when Cabinet members from the conservative Liberal Democratic Party-led governments began going each year, drawing ire throughout Asia.