Japan PM Kishida sends ritual offering to war-linked Yasukuni shrine

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday sent a ritual offering to the war-linked Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, a source of diplomatic friction with some Asian neighbors who view it as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.Kishida sent the "masakaki" ceremonial tree on the occasion of the Shinto shrine's autumn festival, but he is likely to refrain from paying a visit during the two-day festival through Tuesday, people close to him said.Yasukuni shrine honors the souls of the nation's more than 2.4 million war dead, but Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals by a post-World War II internationa…READ FULL ARTICLE