Taiwan is taking a notably soft line on Japanese ministers visiting the Yasukuni war shrine, a stance that keeps Tokyo close but has angered opposition parties at home.

• Taiwan's foreign minister Lin Chia-lung said the government respects the range of opinions inside Japan about the visits, while hoping Tokyo keeps reflecting on its wartime aggression.
• Japan's defense minister Shinjiro Koizumi and other cabinet members visited the shrine on the anniversary of Japan's surrender.
• China and South Korea protested immediately and condemned the visits; Taiwan did not.
• Opposition parties KMT and TPP called Taipei's response too weak, pushing Lin to clarify that he respects the debate in Japan, not the visits themselves.
• The shrine honors Japan's war dead, including 14 top war criminals and tens of thousands of Taiwanese who died serving in the Japanese military under colonial rule.

Outlook: Taipei looks set to keep prioritizing warm ties with Tokyo over wartime grievances, leaving this a recurring fight with the opposition each August.