Japanese MPs' visit to war shrine angers China and South Korea A Shinto priest leads a group of Japanese MPs to offer prayers for the country's war dead at the controversial Yasukuni shrine. China and South Korea have reacted angrily to visits to a controversial war shrine in Tokyo by Japanese MPs, including two cabinet ministers and the leader of the main opposition party. A cross-party group of more than 60 politicians took part in an autumn festival at Yasukuni shrine on Thursday, following a similar visit on Wednesday by Shinzo Abe, the new leader of the Liberal Democratic party, who is widely tipped to become Japan's next prime minister. Hong Lei, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters in Beijing: "Yasukuni shrine is a spiritual pillar used by Japanese militarism for its overseas aggression. It still enshrines class-A war criminals who owe victimised people heavy bloody debts. We urge the Japanese side to face squarely and reflect upon history and strictly abide by its solemn statements and pledges regarding historical issues, and face the international community in a responsible manner. The pilgrimages, made to coincide with the shrine's autumn festival, are expected to increase tensions between Japan and China, which are already embroiled in a dispute over territorial claims to the Senkakus, a group of islands in the East China Sea known as the Diaoyu in China. The Yasukuni visit also drew an angry response from South Korea amid friction over ownership of the Takeshima - or Dokdo - islands, and renewed pressure on Japan to issue an official apology for its use of Korean women as sex slaves in frontline brothels during the war. Cho Tai-young, a South Korean foreign ministry spokesman, said the visit was "an irresponsible act that ignores the sentiment of the peoples in neighbouring countries who suffered due to Japan's past imperialism," according to Kyodo News. The South Korean government calls on Japan's political leaders in a responsible position to look squarely at history with a humble attitude. Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Osamu Fujimura, refused to condemn or support the lawmakers, who included the transport and postal reform ministers. "A visit in a private capacity is a matter of the personal belief of individuals," Fujimura said. Yasukuni honours the 2.5 million Japanese to have died in wars since the second half of the 19th century. Among them are 14 class-A war criminals convicted by the Allies after the war, including Japan's wartime prime minister, Hideki Tojo, who was executed for war crimes in 1948. Many Koreans and Chinese view the shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism, and visits by politicians as proof that Japan has yet to atone for its wartime conduct in parts of China and on the Korean peninsula. The group's leader, Makoto Koga, a former secretary general of the LDP, said the visits were being made in a private capacity and should not spark a diplomatic incident. "Visiting Yasukuni shrine is an issue relating to the spirit of each lawmaker," he said. I don't understand why neighbouring countries have such a hypersensitive reaction to it. Abe, who on Thursday repeated calls for the prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, to call a general election by the end of the year, said he had visited Yasukuni to "pay my respects to the war dead who gave their lives for this country." But he declined to confirm if he would go to Yasukuni if he was elected prime minister: "Given Japan's current relations with China as well as South Korea, I'd better not say whether I would visit or not." A poll conducted by the Asahi Shimbun earlier this month found that 39% of voters would vote for Abe in an election, compared with 34% for Noda. Abe has recently expressed regret that he did not pay his respects at Yasukuni during his previous one-year term as prime minister from 2006, and has made several visits since. His hawkish predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, made six pilgrimages as leader, including on the 15 August anniversary of Japan's defeat in the second world war, sending relations with Seoul and Beijing to their lowest level for years.