Japan PM skips Yasukuni shrine on surrender anniversary

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stayed away from Yasukuni shrine on Saturday, the 81st anniversary of the emperor's surrender in World War II.

There had been speculation that Takaichi might visit the shrine, as her mentor and then-prime minister Shinzo Abe did in 2013. That visit angered China and South Korea.

Yasukuni honours 2.5 million war dead, mostly Japanese. They include convicted war criminals linked to Imperial Japan's invasion and occupation of parts of Asia in the 1930s and 1940s.

An AFP reporter saw Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, a regular visitor, and senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party among those paying respects early Saturday. Jiji Press reported that Takaichi planned to stay away.