Dozens of Japanese politicians, including newly appointed Internal Affairs Minister Sanae Takaichi, are due to pay homage at the notorious war-linked Yasukuni Shrine during its autumn festival that starts on Friday. The move is expected to anger the country's neighbors, local media reports said.

Takaichi, who took the post in September, is a regular visitor to the shrine that honors millions of Japanese war dead, including 14 convicted Class-A war criminals during World War II.

However, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who infuriated Beijing and Seoul by visiting the shrine in December last year, is not expected to attend.