The government has expressed deep regret over Japanese economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura visiting the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. 

A foreign ministry official in Seoul said the government deeply regrets that a senior Japanese government official visited the shrine which glorifies Japan’s war of aggression and honors war criminals. 

After paying respects a day before the shrine's autumn festival, Nishimura said he prayed that the spirits of those who died at war rest in peace, with the country and families in his thoughts.

The minister had previously made visits to Yasukuni marking Japan's surrender in World War Two on August 15 both last year and this year, as well as ahead of last year's autumn festival at the shrine.

The shrine honors some two-point-five million war dead, including 14 convicted Class-A war criminals.