Seoul Protests Takaichi’s Yasukuni Offering, Urges Action on Wartime Past

South Korea’s government expressed regret on Saturday after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent a ritual offering to Yasukuni Shrine, reviving a persistent source of tension in relations between Seoul and Tokyo.

Takaichi made the offering in her capacity as prime minister at the start of the shrine’s three-day autumn festival. She is expected to refrain from visiting the site during the festival, according to reports cited in the original account. The distinction may limit the diplomatic impact, but Seoul made clear that an offering by a serving Japanese leader remains objectionable.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it again expressed deep disappointment and regret over Japanese leaders repeatedly sending offerings to or visiting the shrine. The ministry described Yasukuni as a place that glorifies Japan’s past war of aggression and honors war criminals.

The shrine commemorates about 2.46 million Japanese war dead. They include 14 Class A war criminals convicted by international tribunals for their roles in World War II. That history has made appearances and offerings by senior Japanese politicians especially sensitive in South Korea, which was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.

Seoul urged Japanese leaders to face history squarely and show humble reflection and sincere remorse through action. It said such steps form an important foundation for building a future-oriented South Korea-Japan relationship based on trust between the two countries and their peoples.

The response puts the emphasis on conduct rather than statements alone. Even without an in-person visit, Takaichi’s decision to send an offering under her official title prompted a formal objection from Seoul. The government’s wording also framed the issue as directly relevant to the trust needed for stable bilateral ties.

South Korea and Japan have broad reasons to maintain working relations, but disputes over colonial rule and wartime memory repeatedly test that cooperation. Yasukuni remains particularly contentious because honoring the wider war dead there cannot be separated, in the view of South Korean officials, from the presence of convicted wartime leaders.

Saturday’s exchange therefore showed both restraint and a clear limit. Takaichi reportedly avoided a personal visit, while Seoul responded with a statement rather than announcing any retaliatory measure. At the same time, the Foreign Ministry left no ambiguity about its position: symbolic acts at Yasukuni by responsible Japanese leaders continue to undermine the historical accountability that South Korea regards as essential to lasting trust.