(Update 2) Ishiba Makes Ritual Offering at Yasukuni Shrine

   Tokyo, April 21 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba made a ritual "masakaki" tree offering to Yasukuni Shrine at the start of the war-related Tokyo shrine's spring festival on Monday.
   Ishiba has no plans to visit the Shinto shrine during the three-day festival, according to people familiar with the matter.
   The shrine is regarded by neighboring countries as a symbol of Japan's past militarism as it honors Class-A World War II criminals along with the war dead.
   "We think that the prime minister made the masakaki offering in his personal capacity," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference.
   House of Representatives Speaker Fukushiro Nukaga, House of Councillors President Masakazu Sekiguchi, health minister Takamaro Fukuoka and economic security minister Minoru Kiuchi also offered masakaki trees to the shrine.

(2025/04/21-11:53)