Chinese embassy slams Japan for politicians' visits, offerings to war-linked Yasukuni Shrine

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Japan on Saturday strongly condemned some Japanese politicians' actions related to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, after a Japanese leader sent a ritual offering to the shrine and some cabinet ministers and lawmakers visited it.

In response to a media inquiry, the spokesperson said that during World War II, Japan launched wars of aggression against other countries and committed inhumane atrocities.

China strongly condemns these negative actions by the Japanese side concerning the Yasukuni Shrine, the spokesperson said.

China solemnly urges Japan to deeply reflect on its history of aggression, face up to its war responsibilities, act and speak with extreme caution regarding issues such as the Yasukuni Shrine, make a clean break with militarism, and earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community through concrete actions, the spokesperson said.

Japanese Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Minoru Kiuchi visited the Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday morning, becoming the first member of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's cabinet reported to have visited the shrine during its autumn festival this year.

Kiuchi offered "masakaki," a ritual offering of evergreen branches, at the shrine, while House of Representatives Speaker Eisuke Mori and House of Councilors President Masakazu Sekiguchi also sent offerings, Kyodo News reported. The shrine's three-day autumn festival began on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Kyodo News reported that Takaichi had sent a "masakaki" offering to the shrine under her title of prime minister.

Takaichi, a conservative politician who regularly visited the shrine before becoming prime minister last year, is unlikely to visit it during the current festival, Kyodo News reported, citing a source close to her.

Yasukuni Shrine, located in central Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, enshrines 14 convicted Japanese Class-A war criminals from World War II. It has long been a source of diplomatic frictions between Japan and its neighbors.

For a long time, visits and ritual offerings made by Japanese officials to the controversial shrine have repeatedly sparked criticism and opposition both at home and abroad, hurting the feelings of the people of China, South Korea, and other countries and regions victimized by Japan's wartime aggression.

Chinese embassy slams Japan for politicians' visits, offerings to war-linked Yasukuni Shrine

Russia said Saturday that its forces had taken control of eight more settlements in Ukraine, while Ukraine, on the same day, said it downed 1,396 Russian drones.

In a daily report, the Russian Defense Ministry said that over the 24 hours, the Russian forces seized eight Ukrainian settlements in areas including the Kharkiv region, and struck Ukrainian military transport infrastructure, drone storage sites, and temporary deployment points.

It also said that the Russian air defense systems downed 654 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones and a HIMARS rocket, and that Russia's Black Sea Fleet destroyed a Ukrainian naval unmanned boat in the Black Sea.

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said that in the early hours of Saturday, Russian forces used high-precision land-, air-, and sea-based weapons and attack drones to launch large-scale strikes on metallurgical plants, transformer factories, and energy facilities in Ukraine's city of Kryvyi Rih, the Zaporizhzhia region, and the Zhytomyr region that provide support to the Ukrainian military.

The ministry also said the Russian forces struck a dry cargo ship transporting military supplies to Ukraine's Odesa port in the Black Sea.

Also on Saturday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that over the past day, Ukraine's air force, missile units, and artillery struck targets including Russian troop concentrations and drone command posts, destroying one Russian tank, two armored vehicles, and 1,396 drones, among other weapons and equipment.

The Ukrainian air force said Saturday that from Friday night to Saturday morning, its air defense forces intercepted 293 aerial targets, including four Kalibr cruise missiles and 289 drones of various types.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia used more than 320 drones and various types of missiles to attack Ukraine's energy facilities and multiple cities and communities, with more than 15 key power generation and transmission facilities across Ukraine being hit.

Zelensky said that Russia is trying to disrupt Ukraine's energy supply before winter and cause widespread power outages.

Russia claims seizing more Ukrainian settlements, Ukraine says downing 1396 Russian drones