Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will refrain from visiting the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine on the 75th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II next week, but make an offering as he has done in recent years, the country's Jiji News Agency reported on Sunday. 

"He will make a ritual offering to the shrine out of his personal expenses as the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as he has done in previous years," sources close to the matter said, according to the report. 

Japan declared unconditional surrender on August 15, 1945, marking an end of WWII.

The controversial Shinto shrine, seen by neighboring countries as a symbol of Japan's past militarism, has long been a source of diplomatic friction with Japan's neighbors because it honors convicted war criminals together with the war dead. 

The Yasukuni Shrine honors 14 Class-A convicted war criminals among 2.5 million Japanese war dead from WWII. 

Visits and ritual offerings made in person or by proxy to the infamous shrine by Japanese leaders and officials have consistently sparked strong criticism and hurt the feelings of China, South Korea and other countries brutalized by Japan during the war. 

Abe has sent a ritual offering to Yasukuni during its spring and autumn festivals every year since he launched his current administration in 2012. The Japanese prime minister last visited the shrine in person in December 2013.  

(With input from Reuters, Xinhua)