Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to Tokyo's war-linked Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday, the first day of its annual spring festival, according to shrine officials, sparking a protest by the South Korean government that views Yasukuni as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.Abe is expected to forgo a visit to the Shinto shrine during the three-day festival after making the "masakaki" tree offering in the name of the prime minister, in an apparent appeal to his conservative supporters.The South Korean Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing "deep concern and regret"…READ FULL ARTICLE
