China-Japan 'Voldemort' attacks up ante in propaganda war

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe makes a speech at a New Year party hosted by the Japan Business Federation, Japan Association of Corporate Executives and Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in Tokyo January 7, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

BEIJING (Reuters) - China lambasted Japan on Tuesday for comparing it to Lord Voldemort, the villain in the Harry Potter stories, after both countries used the character to describe each other in a tit-for-tat diplomatic spat.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's December 26 visit to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, where Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals are enshrined along with other war dead, infuriated China and South Korea and prompted concern from the United States, a key ally.