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Some 100 Japanese members of parliament prayed at the memorial that commemorates Japan's war dead — including convicted war criminals. South Korea and China slammed the visit.
Democracy was at work in Japan in the late 19th century, long before World War II and the postwar Occupation.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga spoke of the damage inflicted on Japan, but did not offer an apology for his country's militarism. His ministers courted controversy by visiting a war shrine for the war dead.