BEIJING - A spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Japanese lawmakers' mass visit to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine earlier in the day fuelled controversy over the shrine after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent offering there.
 |
| Special: China-Japan relations |
"The Yasukuni Shrine is a negative asset for Japan. If its leader is bent on holding this negative asset, it will become increasingly heavy," spokesman Qin Gang said at a daily news briefing.
"Unfortunately, the negative asset has become heavier overnight," Qin added.
Since Abe's administration took office in December 2012, the prime minister has not held his cabinet members back from visiting the shrine and he himself also visited it on the first anniversary of the launch of his government on Dec. 26, 2013.
The frequent visits to the site by the Japanese leader, cabinet ministers and lawmakers have become a major obstacle in mending the relations between Japan and its neighboring countries which suffered at the hands of Japan during the World War II.
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263 Registration Number: 130349 
