China firmly opposes and strongly condemns Japan's latest negative moves related to the Yasukuni Shrine and has lodged stern representations and strong protests, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday.

Guo made the remarks at a regular press briefing when asked to comment on Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's "masakaki" offering to the shrine.

The Yasukuni Shrine served as a spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarism in launching wars of aggression abroad and is, in effect, a "shrine for war criminals," Guo said. 

He added that it is deeply troubling that, eight decades on, the notorious Yasukuni Shrine still enshrines Class-A Japanese war criminals from World War II who bear direct responsibility for wars of aggression.

Noting that Japanese officials and politicians have repeatedly visited the shrine or made ritual offerings and donations, Guo said such negative moves essentially amount to an evasion of Japan's own historical responsibility, a desecration of historical justice, a provocation to countries that suffered aggression, and a challenge to the outcomes of World War II.

These actions have been widely condemned and firmly opposed by the international community, he said.