TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday sent a ritual offering to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, a symbol of Japanese militarism and wartime aggression, on the occasion of its spring festival.

Takaichi sent a ritual "masakaki" tree offering to the war-linked shrine on the first day of its three-day ceremony.

Yasukuni Shrine, located in central Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, honors 14 convicted Class-A Japanese war criminals from World War II. It has long been a source of diplomatic friction between Japan and its neighbors.

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For a long time, visits and ritual offerings made by Japanese officials to the controversial shrine have consistently sparked criticism and opposition both at home and abroad, hurting the feelings of the people of China, South Korea, and other countries brutalized by Japan during the war.