The wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited a World War II shrine in Tokyo on Thursday, once again riling up its postwar ties with China.  

Akie Abe posted photos of her visit to the Yasukuni Shrine on her facebook account. The shrine, which was built in 1869 to honor Japanese soldiers who died fighting for their country, has been mired with controversies. Because it also commemorates 1,068 war criminals including 14 Class-A criminals, visits from government officials are highly condemned by neighboring countries who shared a dark history with Japan in the second world war. 

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"My heart aches when reading letters and farewell notes addressed to family members. What could their feelings have been as they perished in the battles?" Abe captioned her photos on Facebook. She added that she's thankful for being able to live in a peaceful and prosperous Japan. 

This action Abe considered  as "paying respects" was criticized by the Chinese government. 

"The Chinese side holds a clear and consistent position on the history issue. We once again urge the Japanese side to face squarely and reflect upon the history of aggression," said Hong Lei, spokesperson of China's Foreign Affairs Ministry, in a press briefing on Friday. 

He added that Japan should make a clean break with militarism and win the trust of the international community and its Asian neighbors with concrete actions. 

China's President, Xi Jinping, also had a few words to say about Abe's visit. 

"The efforts of anyone seeking to distort or beautify the facts of Japan's acts of militaristic invasion will not be accepted by the people of China," Xi said in a forum in Beijing. 

2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the official end of World War II, with Japan surrendering on August 14, 1945, and signing the instrument of surrender on September 2 of the same year. 

China's State Council previously announced a three-day holiday starting on September 3 to September 5 to celebrate the country's victory over Japan. The former date is declared to be "The 70th Anniversary of Chinese People's Anti-Japanese War and the World Anti-Fascist War Victory Commemoration Day."  Grand military parades, which are only observed in milestone events, will be held in Beijing. 

TagsYasukuni Shrine controversy, China condemns visits to war shrine, China-Japan ties, World War II, Post World War II, Akie ABe, Visits to Yasukuni Shrine, Japanese history, End of world war II, V-Day, Chinese holiday, Chinese holiday 2015