Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday sent a ritual offering to the controversial Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, seen by some as a symbol of Japan's past militarism, as the nation marked the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II, a ruling lawmaker said.
Economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, meanwhile, visited the Shinto shrine, marking the fourth consecutive year that a Cabinet member has offered prayers at Yasukuni on the anniversary of Japan's surrender in the war.
Kishida sent the masakaki offering to the shrine, a source of diplomatic tension with China and South Korea. The prime minister, who heads a dovish faction within the conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is likely to eschew an in-person visit as he has done previously.
Yasukuni shrine honors the souls of the country's more than 2.4 million war dead, but Japanese wartime leaders convicted as war criminals in a post-World War II international tribunal are also enshrined there.
Among high-ranking politicians, LDP policy chief Koichi Hagiuda paid his respects at Yasukuni, as well as a cross-party group of lawmakers that visit regularly.
Takaichi, known for her hawkish views on security matters, told reporters after visiting the shrine that she offered her condolences to those who lost their lives "for a national policy."
Past visits to the shrine by prime ministers, such as the assassinated Shinzo Abe, and other lawmakers have drawn sharp criticism from China and South Korea, where memories of Japanese militarism before and during the war run deep.
Japan invaded a vast swath of China before the end of World War II and ruled the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
In December 2013, Abe, who was known as a security hawk, paid a visit to the shrine, angering Beijing and Seoul, while the United States, Tokyo's key security ally, said it was "disappointed" by Abe's actions because the move exacerbated "tensions with Japan's neighbors."
With the apparent aim of avoiding confrontation, recent prime ministers have sent offerings to the shrine for its biannual festivals during the spring and fall, as well as for the anniversary of the 1945 end of World War II.
In 1978, Yasukuni added 14 Class-A war criminals, including wartime Prime Minister Gen. Hideki Tojo, to the enshrined deities, stirring controversy at home and abroad. Tojo was executed by hanging for crimes against peace.
© KYODO
53 Comments
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Mitsuo Matsuyama
To this day, let's remember the souls that fought to Japan and other nations. Leaders made mistakes, and common people should not be blamed for decisions that leaders did in the past.
Meanwhile, we, as representant of modern generation, we should not hold grudge for those men. They made terrible mistakes, but we should learn to forgive even they not asking for it.
kurisupisu
It seems as if the spirit of Japanese nationalism is still alive and well in the grounds of Yasukuni shrine by the look of things
Samit Basu
This is why Japan will not have peace; Japanese rightwingers don't want peace.
But the sad thing is that Japan is falling way way behind China and Korea in arms race, and are poorly trained compared even to the PLA.
OssanAmerica
You are actually incorrect. These people are an extremely small minority with no influence. No more significant than cosplayers. The real right wing with influence don't do these silly things.
Mr Kipling
Kurisupisu....
Also the spirit of Japanese cosplay from those photos. Excellent performances all round.
sakurasuki
Most of those people have no idea about Pearl Harbor, that's why movie like Oppenheimer can help them with their lost history.
Fredrik
The irony is that Japanese "nationalists" have served as a U.S. puppet government for the last century. Not very nationalistic, I would say. As for the enshrined war criminals, those are quite arbitrary chosen as well, selected as scape goats during the tribunal, so that the real war criminals could nominally govern Japan for U.S.
Moonraker
A bunch of insecure inadequates who'd like to create misery for their country again.
Speed
I like how JT imposed the headline about Kishida sending in an offering with a picture of a group of hardcore right-wing nationlists.
NotThe One
From my personal experience with physical conflict in Japan with Japanese men, most are all talk when it is time to get to fisticuffs. They are the first to run to the police or play the victim including the wannabe tough guys in the photo!
Chabbawanga
Can you imagine the response if a bunch of people cosplayed as soldiers of the Third Reich and marched into the Berlin Holocaust Memorial.
u_s__reamer
From the photo you can clearly see a band of bros searching for their masculinity in the cult of nationalism, the scourge of the 20th century. Is there a cure, ladies?
tamanegi
Some excellent posts here. I too can no longer take these people seriously. The dudes in the lead photo look like some kind of maintenance crew and in fact are kind of sheepish and embarrassed at being photographed. As for the mock soldiers, well it looks like a poor man's cosplay.
Japan is a paradox
Nice Reservoir Dogs like shot with Yakuza members.
You can tell a Yakuza member a mile away by how they walk and look and dress
kurisupisu
@OssanAmerica
Donning copies of the Japanese Imperial Army uniform, waving the Hinomaru flag, brandishing guns etc
Just what is the impression that is being given?
Love and peace, it is not
What must tourists from Asia think when they see such gross insensitivity?
And Japan is steadily heading towards a more governmental militaristic outlook (as if you didn’t know)
In more enlightened countries there would be penalties for such stupidity but in Japan it is tolerated.
So, tell me that it is all fine in a country that cannot even teach school history without censoring it first!
Zeram1
The Japanese equivalent of the US Proudboys pictured are the ones that are dangerous. The crazy otaku in Imperial WWII cosplay regalia are just moronic.
winston
Ooh yikes !
That flag is a site for sore eyes
The Phoenix rises it's ugly mug from the ashes
The empire strikes back
Eastman
just imagine that german PM will do same thing in Germany...say send "offerings" to some nazi cemetery
Fumio what are you doing?
why dont give different kind of "offerings" to your taxpayers instead?
winston
Just their names are enshrined there right ?
リッチ
The yearly tick of Asia ritual. Perhaps western counties should return to the holiday “victory over Japan” which it was called for many years.
wallace
There are many thousands of these nationalist rightwing guys who vote for the LDP provided they maintain the policies which they like. Such as immigration and foreign entry restrictions.
kurisupisu
@ Eastman
The same type of behavior in Germany would find one arrested by the police
winston
If they have no influence then there wouldn't be a photo of them on a national news site
Your assessment is illogical
wallace
The wearing of Nazi uniforms is banned in Germany.
Punishable by up to three years in prison - although its laws do allow exceptions for artistic or educational reasons.
The recent case of the Roger Waters concert.
deanzaZZR
Why no attribution? I'm guessing that's what Abe Shinzo said when he visited Yasukuni. Sorry, for my part there are no mulligans for egregious war crimes.
Eastman
kurusupisu
guys on photo in normal country will be behind bars or their actions will be considered as illegal.
however Fumios move is one and onlt reason-to provoke koreans,chienes and asians and try to rewrite history again.poor guy.
Yubaru
Then pray tell, what do you call the LDP?
Rodney
Photo looks like yakuza.
when I went there I was assaulted by a Security guard just because of my T-shirt
Japan is a paradox
On the whole, I'd agree with that sentiment. However, it's easier to say that when it was your nation that was the perpetrator of war time atrocities of historical proportions.
Rather than focusing on forgiving our ancestors, I think an apologetic and regretful approach is both more compassionate and welcome to all and especially those who suffered under great cruelty and oppression that should neve be forgotten.
Mr Kipling
9 minus votes for my cosplay comment?
You guys need to take another look. The tip photo has the tough guy cosplayers. Shades, frowns and a swagger in the walk. The soldiers must have spent hours getting ready, look at the detail, webbing, badges and marching in unison. If Japan could fight wars half as well as they can cosplay, we would not be reading this article!
Japan is a paradox
It's disgraceful that it is not illegal to dress in Japanese Imperial army uniforms and parade about in public.
Millions of Asians, Americans, British, AU/NZ people suffered, were tortured, enslaved and murdered by men in those uniforms and that grotesque flag of violence and inhumanity.
Reginald Bok
Sad, uneducated losers.
Brings shame to the good normal people here.
Tell_me_bout_it
I like how Murica has all these war memorials and cemeteries of Vietnam war, Desert storm etc.
But the right wing whites are all b***hurt when Japan has one shrine.
Yeah Imperial Japan was bad, but history is history.
Japan is a paradox
Not a fair comparison; the US committed some isolated war crimes in these regions but nothing even remotely close to the vast scale of wanton inhumane cruelty and destruction of the Japanese Imperial Army did across the entire Asian region. It was one of the most horrific acts of human history equal to that of the Nazis.
Alan Bogglesworth
Who cares ?
cuddly
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday sent a ritual offering to the controversial Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, seen by some as a symbol of Japan's past militarism, as the nation marked the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II, a ruling lawmaker said.
Not so much the end of the war but Japan surrendering.
Elvis is here
That's the sick and twisted side that I don't like.
TaiwanIsNotChina
The Vietnam war and Desert Storm were legitimate and legal wars. Try harder.
Dr.Cajetan Coelho
Peace is precious for the well being of humankind and Planet Earth. Long live peace.
Matt
It's just all a little bit silly, isn't it.
u_s__reamer
The Vietnam war and Desert Storm were legitimate and legal wars.
A "legal war" is a scary, new term for a non-lawyer like me. America's attack on Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia cost over 3 million people their lives, not counting the victims of the Pol-Pot Frankenstein monster that rose from carpet-bombed Cambodia. History will surely record the enormity of these mass killings that America and its accomplices have so far merely shrugged their cold shoulders over as a war crime. Wars will never end until those who start them on put on notice that they will later pay with their own lives.
aaronagstring
Think I’ll go there next year in my grandfather’s Royal Engineer battledress, complete with Pegasus and Red Beret. See how much they like that. Idiots.
itsonlyrocknroll
I know where the 21st century J people stand, side by side next to the group releasing Doves as a gesture of peace at Yasukuni shrine.
As for the so called Rightwing group members leave after paying tribute to the war dead at Yasukuni shrine.
As expected, always on the wrong side of history, a posturing embarrassment to themselves as much as the bullet headed dress code that attracts the ridicule it deserves.
I would love dearly to witness a group of high school students in there school uniform with water pistols soaking the boneheads.
Visitors clad in outdated military uniforms enter Yasukuni Shrine.
Well I cant help wondering if they are a war reenactment group just descended from a tree after just realizing the war is over, it is almost comic in a Monty Pythonesque way.
Alan Harrison
I think that the guys in the above photographs look extremely funny. Anybody visiting the area and seeing them would be quite forgiven if they asked the question " what is the name of the movie that you are making ?".
CuteUsagi
At least these dedicated nationalists are civilized and did not attack the DIET like someone else we know would have done with a child temper tantrum.
TaiwanIsNotChina
That surely had nothing to do with the communist North and guerrillas in the South, huh? They were all just conducting non-violent resistance in your mind, weren't they? I have news for you: Vietnamese died willingly defending the South Vietnam governments, say what you will about them.
Aoi Azuuri
"Sanctuary" of Japanese far-rightists who justifying and beautifying Japan's invasion war and war crime.
Such they are rampant in recent Japanese society where disrespect lesson of war.
lucabrasi
I can hear him now:
”Some very fine people in that photo… Very fine….”
Tell_me_bout_it
They should have just opened their doors for Harbingers of Democracy?
And what did the American soldiers die for? Willingly attacking in the name of American government? Or were they forced?
winston
Clever response Yubaru
I call the LDP the direct descendants of the Japanese imperial expansionism agenda that were basically pure evil
winston
Perhaps not as willingly as you so eloquently describe Ms whatever your name is.
Fighto!
While I have no time or respect for the laughable cosplayers (and some thugs) in the pictures, ordinary Japanese people do have a right to quietly pray for their war dead. 99% of whom were not war criminals.
All nations have a right to - and all do - pray for the souls of their war dead - many of whom are civilians.
antifun
Gotta keep the ethno-nationalist, ultra far right-wing base happy with empty posturing and platitudes as he's not making anybody happy with actual government policy. "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel"