The government of the Republic of Korea deeply deplores that responsible leaders of Japan have taken anachronistic actions by, once again, sending offerings to and paying respects at the Yasukuni Shrine which glorifies Japan’s war of aggression and enshrines war criminals, in disregard of history.

The ROK government strongly urges the responsible leaders of Japan to squarely face history and demonstrate through their actions humble reflection on and sincere remorse for the past, and stresses that this is an important foundation for building future-oriented relations based on trust between the two countries.