Japanese prime minster to visit controversial war shrine

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit a controversial World War II shrine on Thursday, his office told CNN.

Past visits by Japanese prime ministers and other political leaders to Yasukuni Shrine have ignited a firestorm of controversy with China as well as North Korea and South Korea.

The shrine is regarded by those nations as a symbol of Japan's imperial military past. The visits are seen as honoring war criminals and denying its atrocities in Asia.

Fourteen of Japan's Class-A war criminals from World War II are enshrined at the site with thousands of Japanese soldiers.