A message from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was read out at a ceremony in April memorializing Japanese war criminals, who had, he wrote, "dedicated their souls to become the foundation of our homeland," an organizer of the event has said.
The message was first reported on by the daily Asahi Shimbun on Wednesday.
It was read out at an annual memorial ceremony, at a temple in Koya, Wakayama Prefecture, Masayoshi Onodera told The Japan Times.
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