It notes that last Wednesday about 100 parliamentarians were there to pay tribute to war criminals, and a day earlier Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sent a wreath to those lying there.

Others who visited the shrine in recent days included the ministers of Economy, Economic Security and Economic Revitalization, KCNA noted in a lengthy commentary on the issue.

In its Book of Souls, Yasukuni Shrine lists the names of nearly 2.5 million soldiers who have fallen in war conflicts, including 14 notorious war criminals.

The DPRK, China, South Korea and other countries that were victims of Japanese military aggression in the 20th century consider the shrine a symbol of Japanese militarism in World War II and proto-fascist Japanese nationalism.

The visits to Yasukuni Shrine reveal the Japanese government’s attitude toward the war and become the yardstick for judging whether Japan moves away from its past and chooses the path of peace or returns to the path of aggression, KCNA said.

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