Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday, the 81st anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, while Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi — who had been widely expected to attend in person — chose instead only to send a ritual offering. Yasukuni (a Tokyo shrine dedicated to Japan's 2.5 million war dead, including convicted war criminals from Imperial Japan's wartime campaigns across Asia) has long strained Tokyo's relations with its neighbours, and Koizumi's visit drew opposition from South Korea and risks further souring ties with China, which has already imposed travel advisories and trade restrictions on Japan following Takaichi's comments suggesting Japan would intervene militarily in any conflict over Taiwan. The last Japanese defence minister to visit the shrine was Minoru Kihara in 2024, and the last sitting prime minister to do so on the August 15 anniversary was Shinjiro's father, Junichiro Koizumi, in 2006.