Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Saturday sent a ritual offering to Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, regarded by Japan's neighbors as a symbol of the country's past militarism, at the start of its three-day autumn festival.Takaichi, known as a conservative who routinely visited the Shinto shrine before becoming premier a year ago, is unlikely to visit the shrine during the festival, a source close to her said, amid strained relations with China and relatively stable ties with South Korea.She sent a "masakaki" offering of evergreen twigs to the shrine for the biannual event in her capacity as prime…READ FULL ARTICLE
