Around 70 Japanese lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties visited the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo during its annual autumn festival Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to the shrine.
Yasukuni Shrine, viewed by many as a symbol of Japan's wartime militarism, has been a source of diplomatic friction with China and South Korea, both of which suffered at the hands of Japanese aggression before and during World War II. Along with millions of war dead, the Shinto shrine honors convicted war criminals.
Seoul expressed "deep concern and disappointment" after the visit by the lawmakers.