Japanese leader skips controversial shrine visit, avoids mention of remorse on World War II surrender anniversary

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stayed away from Tokyo’s controversial Yasukuni Shrine, apparently to prioritize diplomatic relations with China and South Korea, but did not mention her country’s wartime past in Asia or remorse over it in an address Saturday as Japan marked the 81st anniversary of its surrender in World War II. Takaichi mourned the victims of major devastation in Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Okinawa, as well as those who perished in overseas battlefronts, and thanked them for their sacrifice as the “foundation of Japan’s peace and prosperity today.” She did not mention Japanese atrocities in Asia or…