A Pokémon card game event at a shrine honouring Japan's war dead has been cancelled following a backlash in China. The Pokémon Company apologised for advertising the event, organised by a certified third party, through its official website, and said it 'should not have been held in the first place'. The event was due to be held on Saturday at the Yasukuni Shrine, near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, which commemorates those who died in several wars, including convicted war criminals. The blunder comes at a moment of worsening relations between China and Japan over the stance of the latter's new prime minister on Taiwan. The Yasukuni Shrine honours Japanese soldiers who died in a number of wars, including both Sino-Japanese wars and the Pacific theatre of World War Two. But the enshrinement of the names of more than 1,000 convicted war criminals among the roughly 2.5 million people it honours has long made it a controversial site for nations that were subject to harsh treatment under Japanese occupation. The People's Daily, the Chinese Communist Party's official news site, commented on the event by stating, 'Brands that disregard history and hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will ultimately be abandoned.' Meanwhile, the state-run Global Times praised 'China's young net­izens' for criticising the event, adding that any entertainment activities held at such a site constitute an affront to historical truth. The Pokémon Company stated the event had been 'mistakenly posted' on its official card game website due to a lack of due diligence, and after the incident was discovered, it was promptly cancelled. The company has vowed to strengthen its approval process to prevent a similar occurrence. This controversy comes amid heightened tensions between China and Japan, exacerbated by remarks from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding Taiwan. As retaliation, both governments have urged their citizens to avoid travel to the other nation while delaying the release of popular Japanese films in China.}