Japan PM Abe sends ritual offering to war dead shrine on WW2 75th anniversary

FILE PHOTO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks at a news conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan June 18, 2020. Rodrigo Reyes Marin/Pool via REUTERS

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to Yasukuni Shrine for war dead on Saturday, the 75th anniversary of Japan's World War Two defeat, a ruling party lawmaker said, but refrained from a personal visit that would anger Beijing and Seoul.

Past visits by Japanese leaders to Yasukuni have outraged South Korea and China because the shrine, dedicated to the country's 2.5 million war dead, also honors 14 Japanese wartime leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal.