衛藤沖北相が靖国参拝＝安倍首相は見送りへ

　衛藤晟一沖縄・北方担当相は１７日午前、同日から始まった靖国神社の秋季例大祭に合わせ、東京・九段北の同神社を参拝した。安倍晋三首相は祭具の真榊（まさかき）を奉納した。首相は２０日までの期間中、参拝はしない見通しだ。
　閣僚の靖国参拝は２０１７年４月の高市早苗総務相（当時）以来、２年半ぶり。同神社には第２次世界大戦のＡ級戦犯が合祀（ごうし）されており、参拝には中韓両国の反発も予想される。

　菅義偉官房長官は１７日の記者会見で、衛藤氏の参拝について「私人としての行動と理解しており、政府として見解を申し上げる事柄ではない」と述べた。
　首相のほか、大島理森衆院議長、加藤勝信厚生労働相も真榊を奉納した。
　首相は１３年１２月に靖国を参拝。それ以降は参拝せず、春と秋の例大祭には真榊を、８月１５日の終戦記念日には玉串料をそれぞれ納めている。（2019/10/17-11:55）

Seiichi Eto, Japanese minister for issues in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa and four Russian-held northwestern Pacific islands claimed by Japan, visited Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Thursday, the first day of the war-related Shinto shrine's four-day autumn festival.
   This marked the first Yasukuni visit by an incumbent cabinet minister since a visit in April 2017 by then Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi.
   The visit by Eto may draw a backlash from China and South Korea as the shrine honors Class-A World War II criminals along with the war dead and is regarded by the neighboring countries as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.
   Eto's visit is understood as "an act of an individual," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference. "It's not something on which the government shows its view," the top government spokesman added.
   Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a ritual offering of a "masakaki" tree stand to the shrine. He is unlikely to visit the shrine during the autumn festival period.