Japan PM sent war shrine offering but did not go

By George Nishiyama

TOKYO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made an offering last month to a war shrine that many in Asia consider a symbol of Japan's past militarism, but he stopped short of visiting the memorial out of apparent consideration for China.

Abe's decision to make an offering to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine for war dead without going in person appeared aimed at keeping a rapprochement with Beijing on track while giving a nod to his conservative supporters who favour prime ministerial pilgrimages.

Abe offered a potted masakaki tree labelled with the words "prime minister" to mark Yasukuni's spring festival, a spokeswoman for the shrine said on Tuesday, adding he had not attended in person.

Japanese media reports said Abe paid the 50,000 yen ($420) for the offering of the tree -- seen as divine in the Shinto religion -- out of his own pocket.

China pointedly noted the sensitivity of the shrine issue, but refrained from directly criticising Abe.

"The Yasukuni Shrine is a major and politically sensitive issue in China-Japan relations," China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, told reporters.

"China and Japan have already reached consensus on overcoming the political obstacle in bilateral ties, and this consensus should be effectively honoured."

In South Korea, a foreign ministry official described the shrine as something that "beautifies the past war of invasion", adding that it ran counter to "establishing an accurate perception of history."