安倍晉三參拜有爭議的靖國神社

Japan's Abe Visits Controversial War Shrine

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has paid respects at a Tokyo war shrine that many of Japan's neighbors see as a symbol of its militaristic past.

The visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, the first by a sitting Japanese prime minister since 2006, was quickly condemned by South Korea and China, both victims of imperialist Japan's aggression.

Mr. Abe downplayed the political impact of the Thursday visit, saying it was not meant to hurt the feelings of Japan's neighbors, but was a sign of respect for his country's war dead.

The Shinto shrine honors Japan's nearly 2.5 million war dead, including 14 convicted World War II war criminals.

China's foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang immediately slammed Mr. Abe's visit as "absolutely unacceptable to the Chinese people" and demanded Tokyo "reflect on its history of aggression."

The Xinhua news agency also said China will "make solemn representations" in Beijing and Tokyo on Thursday to protest the visit.

South Korea's minister of culture, sports and tourism, Yoo Jinryong, labeled the move as "anachronistic" and said it will hurt South Korea-Japan ties.

The U.S., a strong ally of Tokyo, said in a statement via its embassy in Japan that it is "disappointed" the country's leaders have undertaken an action that will "exacerbate tensions" with its neighbors.日本首相安倍晉三參拜了靖國神社，而日本的很多鄰國將靖國神社視爲日本軍國主義歷史的象徵。

中國和韓國立即對安倍參拜靖國神社的做法予以譴責。中韓兩國都是日本帝國主義侵略的受害者。自2006年以來，這是日本現任首相首次參拜靖國神社。

安倍晉三對星期四參拜靖國神社的政治含義進行淡化處理，聲稱此舉並非有意傷害鄰國的感情，而是對戰爭死難者表示敬意。

靖國神社供奉着將近250萬日本戰爭亡靈牌位，其中包括14名二戰戰犯。

中國外交部發言人秦剛立即表示，中國人民完全不能接受安倍參拜靖國神社的做法，並要求東京“對自己的侵略歷史進行反思”。

中國官方的新華社說，中國星期四將在北京和東京對安倍參拜靖國神社表示嚴正抗議。

韓國文化體育觀光部長官劉震龍說，安倍參拜靖國神社是“不合時宜”的，並表示此舉將損害韓日關係。

美國通過駐日使館發表聲明，對日本領導人採取這一舉動表示“失望”，並說這種做法將加劇日本與鄰國之間的緊張關係。