Dozens of Japanese lawmakers, including two cabinet members, visited a Tokyo shrine that honors war criminals on Thursday, sparking anger in Beijing and Seoul over their attempts to deny Japan's militarist past.

Within the past two months, Japan has run into a severe diplomatic deadlock with its neighbors in territorial disputes over islands, and observers warned that Japan's right-wing hard-liners have hijacked foreign relations and will fuel further disagreements.

Japanese Transport Minister Yuichiro Hata and Postal Privatization Minister Mikio Shimoji, along with more than 60 cross-party members of parliament, visited the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors the nation's war dead, including Class A war criminals.