Japanese cabinet leader urges ministers to avoid Yasukuni Shrine

Japanese Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura on Friday urged cabinet ministers not to visit the Yasukuni Shrine, after two Japanese top politicians told reporters they will visit the shrine on Wednesday, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Experts and Chinese media said the politicians are attempting to inflame public hostility against other Asian countries in order to gain support to win Japan's upcoming election.

Zhou Yongsheng, an expert on Japanese studies at China Foreign Affairs University, believed that visiting the shrine, which honors Japan's war criminals from World War II, is an affront to China and South Korea, which have maritime and historical disputes with Japan, and will harm relations.