Japan to continue explaining to South Korea about PM's shrine visit

Japan will continue to patiently explain to South Korea about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent visit to a war-related shrine in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference Wednesday, a day after South Korea urged Japan to show sincere actions. "The door for dialogue is always open. We will continue to explain with humility and patience the true intent of Prime Minister's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine while building a cooperative relationship with South Korea from a broader perspective," the top government spokesman said. At a news conference in Washington with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se emphasized the need for sincere actions by Japan to alleviate tension in Northeast Asia. Last month, Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, drawing strong criticism from China and South Korea. He was the first premier in office to visit the controversial shrine since 2006. The shrine honors 14 World War II Class-A war criminals along with 2.5 million war dead. For China and South Korea, which suffered from Japan's aggression in the early 20th century, the Yasukuni Shrine is a symbol of its militant past and consider visits to the shrine by leading Japanese politicians insensitive and insulting. Abe said in a statement after the visit that it was not his intention at all to hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people, but the visit to the controversial has aggravated Japan's strained ties with the two countries. Abe has not held formal bilateral meetings with Chinese and South Korean leaders since taking office in December 2012 amid worsening relations with the two countries over territorial disputes and differences over wartime history.