Japanese lawmakers' group visits war-linked Yasukuni Shrine

A nonpartisan group of lawmakers on Friday visited the controversial war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo ahead of its annual spring festival.The shrine has been a source of friction with Asian countries that suffered from Japan's militarism during World War II as it honors Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals along with millions of war dead.The group of 76 lawmakers was drawn from ruling and opposition party members of Japan's lower and upper houses with a combined 707 seats. Among senior government officials, Shinsuke Okuno, senior vice internal affairs minister, Masahisa Sato, seni…READ FULL ARTICLE