高市総務相が靖国参拝＝超党派の国会議員９８人も

　高市早苗総務相は１８日、東京・九段北の靖国神社を秋季例大祭に合わせて参拝した。閣僚では１７日の衛藤晟一沖縄・北方担当相に次いで２人目。超党派の「みんなで靖国神社に参拝する国会議員の会」（会長・尾辻秀久元参院副議長）のメンバー計９８人も１８日、集団参拝した。
　高市氏は参拝後、記者団に「国策に殉じられた方々のみ霊に尊崇の念を持って感謝の誠をささげた」と語った。閣僚参拝に対する中韓両国の反発については「これを外交問題にしてしまうことがあってはいけない」と述べた。同氏によると、総務相の肩書で記帳し、玉串料は私費で納めた。（2019/10/18-15:37）

Japanese Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi visited Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Friday, the second day of the war-related Shinto shrine's four-day autumn festival.
   Takaichi was the second incumbent cabinet minister to visit the shrine during the festival, following minister for Okinawa and Northern Territories affairs Seiichi Eto, who visited it on Thursday.
   Speaking to reporters after the visit, Takaichi said she "expressed gratitude with respect to the spirits of the war dead." With regard to a backlash from neighboring countries, Takaichi said that "it should not become a diplomatic issue."
   Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrines Class-A World War II criminals along with the war dead, is considered a symbol of Japan's past militarism, particularly in China and South Korea.
   Takaichi said she signed the register book of the shrine as internal affairs and communications minister and offered a "tamagushi" ritual offering out of her own pocket.