Tens of thousands of Japanese people visited the controversial Yasukuni war memorial in Tokyo today to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, while nearby, at another event, Emperor Naruhito expressed his deep regret for this part of history.

The Shinto shrine Yasukuni, in the center of the Japanese capital, is a monument dedicated to all of Japan's war dead without exception - 2.5 million soldiers killed since the late 19th century - including convicted war criminals.

For this reason, visits by Japanese officials regularly provoke anger in countries that suffered from Japanese military atrocities, particularly China and South Korea.

The last Japanese leader to visit the memorial, which was erected to honor the war dead, including those convicted of war crimes by an allied tribunal after World War II, was Shinzo Abe in 2013.

This year, Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, a potential candidate for prime minister, visited the monument, as he does every August 15, but for the first time as a member of the government. A few hundred meters from the shrine, the emperor declared that he felt a deep and abiding sense of sadness in a formal speech he delivered with Empress Masako.

"My thoughts are with the many people who lost their precious lives in the last war and with their grieving families," the 65-year-old emperor said."Thinking of our past and bearing in mind feelings of deep sorrow, I sincerely hope that the disasters of war will never be repeated."

The Prime Minister promised to preserve the painful memories of the war... to pass them on from generation to generation and to pursue actions for lasting peace.

Emperor Naruhito, Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, are scheduled to visit Nagasaki in September to meet survivors of the devastating atomic bombing of August 1945 and honor the war dead.

China and South Korea have criticized previous visits by high-ranking Japanese officials, which they say overlook Tokyo's wartime actions and damage diplomatic ties.

At a press conference, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi did not directly comment on the Yasukuni visits, but said: Only by facing history can one gain respect. Only by learning from history can one forge a better future. Only by remembering the past can we avoid repeating the same mistakes. We call on Japan to make the right choice.

The Chinese embassy in Japan in a statement criticized Japanese politicians who visited the monument, saying the visit reflected Japan's wrong attitude towards its history of aggression.

The South Korean government expressed deep disappointment and regret over the visit of Japanese officials to the memorial and said that future relations should be built on the basis of Japan's demonstration of remorse for past mistakes, the South Korean Foreign Ministry announced.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung is expected to visit Japan on August 23-24 and meet with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.