China made serious protests against Japan over its prime minister's offering and officials' visit to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, urging Japan to make a clean break with militarism.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sent a ritual offering to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine on Thursday on the 79th anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender in World War II.

Cabinet officials including Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, and Yoshitaka Shindo, the economic revitalisation chief, as well as several lawmakers visited the site in Tokyo.

"The visit and offering again reflect wrong attitude of the Japanese side toward historical issues," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in a statement on Thursday, adding that Beijing has made serious representations with Tokyo.

"The Yasukuni Shrine, honoring 14 convicted Class-A Japanese war criminals from World War II, is a spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarism and its invasion of foreign countries," Lin said.

Correctly dealing with and deeply reflecting on its history of aggression is an essential prerequisite for Japan to establish and develop friendship and cooperation with its Asian neighbors after World War II, Lin said.

He emphasized that remembering lessons of history was not to perpetuate hatred but to learn from history and uphold peace.

Lin urged Japan to honor its commitment of recognizing and reflecting on its history of aggression and stay prudent on historical issues such as the issue of the Yasukuni Shrine.

Japan should stick to the path of peaceful development to earn the trust from its Asian neighbors and the international community through concrete actions, he added.