Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent a ritual masakaki tree offering to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Thursday, the start of its three-day fall festival.
He is unlikely to visit the Shinto shrine, which is regarded by neighboring countries as a symbol of Japan's past militarism as it honors Class-A war criminals along with the war dead, during the festival itself.
Ishiba, who took office on Oct. 1, is believed to have followed the practice of his predecessor, Fumio Kishida, who, during his tenure, made masakaki offerings for the shrine's spring and fall festivals and tamagushi ritual offerings as chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on the Aug. 15 anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.
No Japanese prime minister has visited the Yasukuni Shrine since 2013, when Shinzo Abe sparked fury in Beijing and Seoul and earned a rare diplomatic rebuke from close ally the United States.
Yasukuni Shrine in central Tokyo is dedicated to 2.5 million war dead, mostly Japanese, who have perished in conflicts since the late 19th century.
But this includes senior military and political figures convicted by an international tribunal of war crimes prior to and during World War II.
Every year, dozens of lawmakers pay their respects during the spring and fall festival and in August for the war anniversary.
The minister of health, labor and welfare, Takamaro Fukuoka, also sent a masakaki tree offering, the spokesman for the shrine said.
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