Prime Minister Shinzo Abe skipped a visit to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Wednesday, the 73rd anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II in 1945.
Abe has not visited the shrine for six consecutive years on Aug. 15, one of the most emotional and politically sensitive days for the people of Japan.
Instead, Abe dispatched his aide Masahiko Shibayama, who made a cash offering called tamagushi-ryō to the Shinto shrine on his behalf.