By Li Hongmei

A total of 168 Japanese lawmakers visited a controversial war shrine seen as potent symbol of Japan's imperialist past on Tuesday, stoking regional tensions.

The annual trip to the Yasukuni shrine, which usually draws a far smaller number of legislators, has riled neighbors such as China and South Korea, which lodged protests after several Japanese cabinet members visited at the weekend.

The shrine, which honors 2.5 million war dead, including 14 leading war criminals, is seen by Japan's Asian neighbors as a symbol of its wartime aggression and a defiance of the international order after WWII.

The visit came a day after South Korea shelved a proposed trip by Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se to Tokyo in protest at trips by Japanese cabinet ministers to the shrine.

China also protested against the weekend visits on Monday, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying telling reporters that Japan must atone for its past behavior.

"Only by facing up to and repenting for its history of aggression can Japan create the future, and truly develop friendly and cooperative relations with its neighbors," Hua said.

But Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga brushed off anger over the shrine visits, saying on Tuesday it was a personal matter for lawmakers.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did not make a pilgrimage but paid for equipment made of wood and fabric-which bears his name and title-which is used as offerings.

To this, China said on Monday that Japan must face up to history and respect the feelings of those who were victims of wartime aggression.

Sino-Japanese relations deteriorated sharply in September after Japan unilaterally "bought" the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, sparking anti-Japanese protests across China.

Ties have been overshadowed for years by Tokyo's refusal to admit to wartime atrocities committed by Japanese invaders within China between 1931 and 1945.