Japanese politicians have visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine for Japanese veterans, to mark the start of the annual spring festival. The move is bound to spark protests from neighbouring China and South Korea. The visit comes a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to the shrine, which drew criticism from China.

The shrine honors the souls of some 2.5 million war dead, including more than 1,000 war criminals convicted by a post-WWII court, including 14 Class-A war criminals as adjudicated by the war crimes tribunal.