Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's war dead, on Saturday, his first visit since December 2013, after refraining from doing so for most of his term to avoid angering China and South Korea.
"Today, I paid a visit to the Yasukuni Shrine and reported to the souls of the war dead that I resigned as prime minister on Sept. 16," he tweeted with a photo of himself escorted by a priest.
Abe's visit comes just days after Yoshihide Suga succeeded him as Japan's leader. The nation's longest-serving leader stepped down, citing health problems.