- NEW: A Chinese spokesman condemns the visit
- Past visits by Japanese leaders have ignited a firestorm of controversy
- Yasukuni Shrine includes 14 Class-A war criminals from World War II
- The site was built in 1869
Tokyo (CNN) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited a controversial shrine Thursday in a move that drew strong and immediate criticism.
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.
Wearing a long black coat and silver tie, Abe was seen walking into the shrine. He left a short time later.
China blasted the visit, saying it hurt Asian war victims, Xinhua reported.
"We strongly protest and seriously condemn the Japanese leader's acts," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang, according to the state run news agency.
In October, several officials, including Abe's brother, senior vice foreign minister Nobuo Kishi, visited the shrine, according to Kyodo News. The visits were part of an autumn festival and included 159 members of the Diet, Japan's national legislature.
The Prime Minister refrained from visiting the shrine then, but sent an offering.
The Japanese lawmakers who went to the shrine defended their decision to go to the site, where 14 of Japan's Class-A war criminals from World War II are enshrined with thousands of Japanese soldiers.
The group insisted the visits have been misrepresented by the foreign media and that the shrine is where Japanese visitors go to "pray for peace." The site, built in 1869, enshrines those who "devoted their lives to their country," the group said in a statement.
Also in October, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel paid their respects, laying wreaths at the Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery in Tokyo, which sits less than a mile away from Yasukuni.
The secular cemetery holds the remains of unknown Japanese soldiers and citizens who died overseas during World War II. The Americans' visit was seen by many as suggesting an alternative to venerating the war dead at Yasukuni.
CNN's Yoko Wakatsuki reported from Tokyo; Dana Ford wrote from Atlanta
