Shinzo Abe Visits Tokyo War Shrine Linked to Militarist Past

TOKYO—Former Japanese Primary Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday visited a Tokyo shrine joined to Japan’s militarist earlier, waiting around only a few days soon after his departure from business office to resume a longstanding apply that experienced angered Asian neighbors.

Mr. Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine on Dec. 26, 2013, a calendar year soon after taking business office, prompting a unusual rift with the U.S. At the time, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said it was upset that Mr. Abe experienced “taken an motion that will exacerbate tensions with Japan’s neighbors.”

Abe supporters said he desired to go all over again when in business office but refrained out of thought for U.S.-Japan relations.

On Saturday, Mr. Abe tweeted a picture of himself visiting the shrine in central Tokyo, strolling driving a Shinto priest. “Today I paid out my respects at Yasukuni Shrine and described to the spirits of fallen heroes that I departed the business office of key minister,” Mr. Abe wrote.

Mr. Abe announced his resignation on Aug. 28 and formally resigned on Sept. sixteen. He was changed the identical working day by Yoshihide Suga, his previous chief aide. Mr. Suga said in 2014 that he experienced visited Yasukuni prior to getting a cupboard minister in Mr. Abe’s government, but he did not do so as a minister and is not related with the nationalist camp of lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Social gathering that advocates visits to Yasukuni.