Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Saturday sent a ritual offering to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, regarded by Japan’s neighbours as a symbol of the country’s past militarism, at the start of its three-day autumn festival.

Takaichi, known as a conservative who routinely visited the Shinto shrine before becoming prime minister a year ago, was unlikely to visit the shrine during the festival, a source close to her said, amid strained relations with China and relatively stable ties with South Korea.

The shrine honours Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals by a post-World War II international tribunal, along with millions of war dead, and has long been a source of diplomatic friction with China and South Korea.

Takaichi sent a “masakaki” offering of evergreen twigs to the shrine for the biannual event in her capacity as prime minister, following the practice of her predecessors.