The Japanese government has stated that the issue of whether Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will visit the Yasukuni Shrine during its autumn grand festival starting on the 17th is a matter for her to judge appropriately.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara stated during a press conference this morning (October 16) in response to a question regarding whether Prime Minister Takaichi and himself would visit the Yasukuni Shrine or offer ritual payments for ritual offerings, saying, "It is a matter for the prime minister to judge appropriately, and the same goes for myself."

Prime Minister Takaichi has regularly visited the Yasukuni Shrine in the past during the spring and autumn grand festivals, as well as on August 15, which marks Korean Liberation Day and Japan's WWII surrender day.

However, on August 15, she did not visit the Yasukuni Shrine in person, but instead offered a ritual payment called a "tamagushi" out of her own pocket in her capacity as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party.

In addition, instead of a direct visit, she performed a "yohai," bowing toward the shrine from a distance.

On the same day, four cabinet ministers—including Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, Minister for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs Hitoshi Kikawada, Minister for Economic Security Kimi Onoda, and Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Minoru Kiuchi—visited the Yasukuni Shrine, and key executives of the Liberal Democratic Party also conducted a group visit.