China has strongly condemned Japanese politicians after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent ritual offerings to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine and some cabinet members and lawmakers visited it.

The shrine is a symbol of Japanese militarism and enshrines 14 Class-A war criminals directly responsible for Japan's war of aggression, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Japan said on Saturday.

The 14 were among 28 Japanese Class-A war criminals tried at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East following World War II.

Of the 14 enshrined at Yasukuni, seven were sentenced to death by hanging: Hideki Tojo, Kenji Doihara, Iwane Matsui, Heitaro Kimura, Koki Hirota, Seishiro Itagaki and Akira Mutou.

The four who were sentenced to life imprisonment: Toshio Shiratori, Kiichiro Hiranuma, Kuniaki Koiso and Yoshijiro Umezu.

The one who was sentenced to twenty years in prison: Shigenori Togo.

The remaining two enshrined Class-A war criminals: Yusuke Matsuoka and Osami Nagano.