Several Japanese officials and lawmakers visited controversial shrine . Yasukuni Shrine includes 14 Class-A war criminals from World War II . Polls in Japan , he said , indicate that most oppose the shrine visits by the prime minister . The visit was criticized by some as a political stunt to boost the popularity of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's conservative Liberal Democratic Party, which is running for re-election in elections next month.
Several Japanese officials and lawmakers visited controversial shrine . Yasukuni Shrine includes 14 Class-A war criminals from World War II . The visit was criticized by some as a political stunt to boost the popularity of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's conservative Liberal Democratic Party, which is running for re-election in elections next month.