People walk past paper lanterns during the Mitama festival, celebrated since 1947 honoring the war dead at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 14, 2021. (BEHROUZ MEHRI / AFP)

BEIJING - China urges Japan to earnestly honor its statements and commitments on facing up to and reflecting on its history of aggression, and act prudently on historical issues including Yasukuni Shrine, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Sunday.

The Yasukuni Shrine, where 14 World War II Class-A war criminals with heinous crimes are honored, is a spiritual tool and symbol of the Japanese militarism's war of aggression, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said

Spokesperson Hua Chunying's remarks came after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga sent a monetary offering to the notorious war-linked Yasukuni Shrine, and former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, several cabinet members and some lawmakers visited the shrine.

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"The Chinese side has lodged solemn representations with the Japanese side through diplomatic channels in both Beijing and Tokyo to voice strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition," she said.

The Yasukuni Shrine, where 14 World War II Class-A war criminals with heinous crimes are honored, is a spiritual tool and symbol of the Japanese militarism's war of aggression, Hua said.

"What some Japanese political figures have done on the issue of the Yasukuni Shrine affronts historical justice and seriously hurts the feelings of people in the victimized Asian countries, including China. It again reflects Japan's wrong attitude towards its own history of aggression," she said.

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Hua urged Japan to make a clean break with militarism and win the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community through concrete actions.