安倍前首相が靖国参拝　退任後２回目

　安倍晋三前首相は１９日、東京・九段北の靖国神社を参拝した。「安倍晋三」と記帳し、私費で玉串料を納めた。参拝後、記者団に対して「英霊に尊崇の念を表した」と語った。同神社では１７、１８両日、秋季例大祭が行われていた。
　安倍氏は第２次政権下の２０１３年１２月２６日に参拝した。その後、在任中は控えていたが、首相退任直後の９月１９日に参拝し、今回が２回目。
　加藤勝信官房長官は記者会見で「私人である前首相個人の参拝だ。個人の信教の自由に関する問題で、政府として立ち入るべきものではない」と指摘。菅義偉首相が祭具の真榊（まさかき）を奉納したことについては「首相として適切に判断したと承知している。あくまで私人としての奉納だ」と述べた。（2020/10/19-16:30）

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Monday, with the Shinto shrine visit marking his second since he resigned from the post last month.
   Abe put his signature on the visitor book as "Shinzo Abe," without any title, and made a "tamagushi" ritual offering at his own expense, according to sources familiar with the visit.
   The shrine, located in Chiyoda Ward in the Japanese capital, held a regular autumn festival for two days through Sunday. Honoring Class-A World War II criminals along with the war dead, the shrine is regarded as a symbol of Japan's past militarism by China and South Korea, which suffered at the hands of Japan during the wartime.
   Abe paid a visit on Dec. 26, 2013, his only confirmed visit to the shrine during his second tenure as prime minister, which began in December 2012. He visited the shrine on Sept. 19 this year, three days after he left office due to a health issue. Abe remains a member of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament.
   Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a news conference on Monday that Abe made the latest Yasukuni Shrine visit as "a private individual," adding, "This is a matter that concerns an individual's religious freedom, and the government therefore should not meddle in the issue."