The Japanese Prime Minister sent offerings to the Yasukuni Shrine.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's sending of offerings to the Yasukuni Shrine will certainly anger China and South Korea.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent an offering to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on the morning of August 15th (Japan time).

China and South Korea view Yasukuni Shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism. (Photo: Reuters)

Today (August 15, 2016) also marks the 71st anniversary of the surrender of fascist Japan to the Allies in World War II (August 15, 1946).

Between 2013 and 2015, Prime Minister Abe made offerings at this shrine. This action was seen as likely to provoke a reaction from South Korea and China, both of which have for years opposed Prime Minister Abe and members of the Japanese Cabinet sending offerings and visiting the shrine.

Meanwhile, several members of the Japanese Cabinet, including the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary and members of parliament, also visited the shrine that morning.

Earlier on August 11th, the new Minister of Reconstruction of Disaster-Affected Areas of Japan, Masahiro Imamura, visited the Yasukuni Shrine.

The Yasukuni Shrine commemorates 2.5 million Japanese who died in World War II, including 14 war criminals. China and South Korea view the shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism.

According to VOV