Japan’s Takaichi Risks China’s Wrath With Yasukuni Offering

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made an offering to a shrine seen by Japan’s neighbors as glorifying its wartime past, in a move that stops short of a visit but may still anger China and other neighboring nations.

Takaichi’s offering of a sacred tree was made on the first day of a traditional spring festival at Yasukuni shrine, according to local media, and is in line with similar moves by her predecessors Shigeru Ishiba and Fumio Kishida during their time in office. While her decision not to go the shrine showed her more cautious stance on the issue, the leader of a party in Takaichi’s ruling coalition visited the shrine on Tuesday, according to the Nikkei newspaper.