Controversies surrounding Yasukuni Shrine
Encyclopedia
Yasukuni Jinja is a Shinto
shrine that is at the center of an international Asian controversy. It is a shrine to war dead who served the Emperor of Japan
during wars from 1867–1951. This eligibility includes civilians in service and government officials. Yasukuni is a shrine to house the actual souls of the dead as Kami
, or "spirits/souls" as loosely defined in the English words. Furthermore it is believed that all negative or evil acts committed are absolved when enshrinement occurs. This activity is strictly a religious matter since the religious separation of State Shinto
and the Japanese Government. The priesthood at the shrine has complete religious autonomy to decide to whom and how enshrinement may occur. It is thought that enshrinement is permanent and irreversible by the current clergy. Due to the enshrinement of International Military Tribunal for the Far East
(IMTFE) war criminals and the nationalist approach to the war museum, the Yasukuni Shrine and the Japanese Government have been criticized by China, Korea
, and Taiwan
as being revisionist and unapologetic about the events of World War II.
Of the 2,466,532 people contained in the shrine's Book of Souls, 1,068 were convicted of war crimes
by a post World War II court. Of those, 14 are convicted Class A war criminals ("crime against peace
"). The war crimes tribunals were carried out by the IMTFE, which comprised the victors of World War II including Australia, Canada, the Republic of China
, the Provisional Government of the French Republic
, India, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines
, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The main problems arose from how the IMTFE used a method of information collection called "Best Evidence Rule" that allowed simple hearsay with no secondary support to be entered against the accused. The Indian Justice Radha Binod Pal
found that due to the significant procedural flaws of the proceedings, that the court was an invalid form of victor's justice
and revenge. As these problems with the tribunals left much to be argued about convicting the accused, and that the living convicted criminals were all released from prison by 1958 gave many Japanese people a reason to believe that they were not war criminals. The opinion of victor's justice was based on that there were none of the victors facing tribunals for mass civilian killings in firebombings of major cities, the mass deaths of non-repatriated Japanese soldiers, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
. Furthermore Justice Pal's position was that as none of the defeated countries would sit in judgment of their own people, as it could never be considered fair. Five of the 11 judges released dissenting opinions. No justice on the court disagreed as to the scale and horrifying nature of the atrocities of the war.
A more recent source of controversy, visits to the shrine by Japanese Diet cabinet members and Prime Ministers in particular have been a cause of protest in Japan and abroad. China, North Korea
, South Korea
and Taiwan
have protested against various visits since 1985. Despite the controversy, the former Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi
made annual personal (non government) visits from 2001 to 2006.
the government had no say in who is enshrined. In addition, Vice Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare Tsuji Tetsuo told reporters that the former ministry was "in charge of keeping the personal records of soldiers and civilian employees of the military, and with presenting records as the need arose."
"A New Compilation of Materials on the Yasukuni Shrine Problems" has been entered into the Library of Congress.
beliefs, provides a permanent residence for the spirits of those who have fought on behalf of the emperor, regardless of whether they died in combat. 1,068 of the enshrined kami
were POWs convicted of some level of war crime
after World War II. Enshrinement typically carries absolution of earthly deeds even for those convicted at the IMTFE court.
One of the criteria for enshrinement at Yasukuni is that a person be listed as having died while on duty (including death from illness or disease) in the war dead registry of the Japanese government. According to documents released on 28 March 2007 by the National Diet Library of Japan, Health and Welfare Ministry officials and Yasukuni representatives agreed during a meeting, on 31 January 1969, that Class-A war criminals judged at the Tokyo Trial were "able to be honored" as decided by the Shrine Priests and decided not to make public the idea that Yasukuni would enshrine those that were IMTFE criminals.
On 17 October 1978, 14 Class A war criminals (convicted by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East
), including Hideki Tōjō
, were enshrined as "Martyrs of Shōwa
" ( Shōwa junnansha), ostensibly because they were on the war dead registry. They are listed below, according to their sentences:
All imprisoned war criminals had commuted sentences, or released by 1958.
The enshrinement was revealed to the media on April 19, 1979, and a controversy started in 1985 which continues to this day.
of the history of Japan
(the Yūshūkan
), which some observers have criticized as presenting a revisionist interpretation. A documentary-style video shown to museum visitors portrays Japan's conquest of East Asia
during the pre-World War II period as an effort to save the region from the imperial advances of the colonial Western powers
called the "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere
". Displays portray Japan as a victim of foreign influence, especially Western undermining of trade.
Critics say the museum fails to portray any atrocities
committed by the Japanese Imperial Army. On the invasion of Nanking, the museum omits any mention of the massacre
and states that "General Iwane Matsui
issued orders to observe military rules to the letter. The Japanese established a safety zone for Chinese civilians and made a special effort to protect historical and cultural sites. Inside the city, residents were once again able to live their lives in peace."
Yasukuni Shrine considers the Izokukai as the de facto lay organization for the Shrine. The Izokukai was formerly known as the Izoku Kōsei Renmei ( War-Dead-Family Welfare Union), established in 1947. The original purpose of the Izoku Kōsei Renmei was stated as follows: "With a view to pursuing the end of warfare, establishing global peace and world prosperity and contributing to the welfare of the humanity, we seek to provide relief and assistance to the families of those who died in the (Asia Pacific) war ". As can be seen, the main purpose of the organization was to provide assistance to the widows, orphans and aging parents of those who died in the Asia Pacific War as well as lobbying the government in the interests of the family. However, in 1953 the organization became a trust foundation and changed its name to the current Izokukai. More importantly, the main purpose of the organization was changed to, "In pursuit of the establishment of a peaceful Japan, the cultivation of character, and the promotion of morality, we seek to praise eirei, to promote the welfare of the families of the war dead, and to seek recognition and compensation for civilian auxiliary units." The change, which included the elimination of international pacifism and insertion of a reference to eirei is regarded as giving a nationalist slant to the character of the organization. Chairmen of the organization have usually been members of the governing Liberal Democratic party and the organization is regarded as the informal pipeline between the LDP (hence the government) and the Yasukuni Shrine. In 1962 Okinori Kaya, a known LDP hawk and a convicted class A criminal in the Tokyo Trials was appointed chairman. The organization is regarded as having strong influence over the political overtones of the Yasukuni Shrine.
This issue first surfaced when Emperor Hirohito
refused to visit the shrine from 1978 until his death in 1989. According to a memorandum released in 2006 kept by Imperial Household Agency
Grand Steward
Tomohiko Tomita, Hirohito stated that the reason he stopped visiting the shrine was because of the decision to enshrine Class-A war criminals such as Yosuke Matsuoka
and Toshio Shiratori
. Since his 1978 decision, no Japanese emperor has visited the Yasukuni Shrine. Japanese imperial emissaries have visited annually.
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While an emperor has not visited the shrine since 1978, Japanese politicians, including Japanese Prime Ministers
and other Japanese Cabinet
members, have caused considerable controversy by visiting Yasukuni. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
was one of the most outspoken and controversial visitors. On October 17, 2005, for example, Koizumi visited the shrine for the fifth time since taking office. Although he claimed that his visit was a private affair, it came only days before Japanese Foreign Minister
Nobutaka Machimura
was scheduled to visit Chinese officials in Beijing
to strengthen Sino-Japanese relations. Considering the shrine a glorification of Japan's past military aggression, the People's Republic of China
responded by canceling the scheduled visit.
Koizumi's annual visits to Yasukuni continued to draw criticism from around the world. During the 2005 APEC summit in Busan
, South Korea
, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing
likened Koizumi's visits to "German leaders [visiting] (memorials) related to Hitler and Nazis." In 2006, Henry Hyde
, chairman of the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, stated that Koizumi would embarrass the United States Congress
and offend American veterans of World War II if he were to give a Congressional speech after making another visit to Yasukuni.
Koizumi's expected successor, Shinzo Abe
, had visited the shrine in April 2006 before he took office. Although this visit concerned both Chinese and South Korean governments, Abe remained vague as to whether he had visited or would visit the shrine in the future. Subsequent events have led some to suggest that a compromise on the issue was reached with China. Abe publicly supported his predecessor's visits to the shrine, but he did not visit the shrine during his term as prime minister.
On June 7, 2007 former President of the Republic of China
Lee Teng-hui
visited the Shrine to pay tribute to his older brother who died in the Japanese Imperial Navy; he too volunteered as a Japanese Imperial Army officer.
The former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda
vowed never to visit the shrine, a commitment applauded by Japan's Asian neighbors. Fukuda's open political opposition to the shrine has helped improve relations with China, and North and South Korea. Other politicians have continued to visit the shrine; a group of 62 Diet members from the Liberal Democratic Party and the People's New Party, including former farm minister Shimamura and Eriko Yamatani, a special adviser to prime minister Fukuda, visited the shrine on 22 April 2008.
In the public opinion poll of Nihon Keizai Shimbun
, half of Japanese respondents agreed with the Prime Minister's visit to Yasukuni Shrine.
Miki Takeo visited the shrine as a private individual on August 15, the day that Japan commemorates the end of World War II. The next year, his successor Fukuda Takeo visited as a private individual yet signed the visitors' book as prime minister. Several other Japanese prime ministers
have visited the shrine since 1979: Masayoshi Ohira
in 1979; Zenko Suzuki
in 1980, 1981 and 1982; Yasuhiro Nakasone
in 1983 and 1985 (on the latter occasion, he offered flowers which had been paid for with government money); Kiichi Miyazawa
in 1992, this visit was kept secret until 1996 (he had paid a visit in 1980 before becoming Prime Minister); Ryutaro Hashimoto
in 1996; and Junichiro Koizumi
, who visited six times (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006). Visits by Japanese prime ministers to the shrine have resulted in official condemnation by neighbouring countries since 1985, as they see it as an attempt to legitimize Japan's past militarism
.
Visits to the shrine are also controversial in the domestic debate over the proper role of religion in Japanese government. Some Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
politicians insist that visits are protected by the constitutional right to freedom of religion and that it is appropriate for legislators to pay their respects to those fallen in war. However, proposals for the construction of a secular memorial, so that those wishing to honor Japan's military dead do not have to visit Yasukuni, have thus far failed, ostensibly for technical details rather than the rejection of a secular memorial. The Japanese government conducts yearly memorial services to commemorate the War in Budokan (a secular building) which is near Yasukuni shrine, so that the attendees can later visit Yasukuni Shrine privately if they so wish. The shrine itself objects to any proposal that a non-religious memorial be built, stating that "Yasukuni Shrine must be the one and only memorial for Japan's military dead." Koizumi has claimed that his visits are to ensure that there will be no further wars involving Japan, causing some to interpret them as an act of remembrance rather than reverence.
On his first visit to Japan since leaving office in February 2003, former South Korean President
Kim Dae Jung
openly criticised Japanese politicians' visits to the shrine, and proposed that the 14 Class A war criminals be moved to a different location. He said, "If that option is realized, I will not express opposition to visits to Yasukuni Shrine (by Koizumi or other Japanese leaders)". Kim noted that Koizumi promised at a meeting in Shanghai
in 2001 to consider building a new memorial facility that could replace Yasukuni Shrine and enable anyone to worship there without hesitation.
The government of the People's Republic of China has been the most vocal critic of the shrine and some Japanese observers have suggested that the issue of Yasukuni Shrine is just as heavily tied to China's internal politics as it is to the historical conduct of Japan's military and the perceived degree of its remorse for its actions. They state that tolerance on the part of Communist Party of China
authorities for large-scale public protests in mainland China against the shrine contrasts strongly with the authority exercised against any kind of domestic political dissent. Many have commented on the cultural difference between Chinese and Japanese cultures. Shinto views one's crimes absolved after enshrinement.
French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen
stated that If we talk about war criminals, aren't those who bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki also war criminals?
is explicit. Because the clause was written for the express purpose of preventing the return of State Shintoism, many question the constitutionality of the Prime Minister visiting Yasukuni Shrine. Often the first question Japanese Prime Ministers are asked by journalists after a visit is, "Are you here as a private person or as Prime Minister?" In addition, whether the Prime Minister has signed the visitors' book indicating the position of signatory as shijin ( private person) or shushō ( Prime Minister) is diligently reported. All Prime Ministers have so far stated that their visit was private. However, although some leave the signature section blank or sign it as shijin, others sign it as shushō. The issue is somewhat different than that of visits by the German Chancellor to the Holocaust Memorial, which are explicitly made in the context of a state visit. Prime Minister Koizumi recently gave a somewhat cryptic answer, stating that he visited the shrine as Junichiro Koizumi, the Prime Minister of Japan. Some consider such statement as a move towards making visits somewhat official; others consider that it is pointing out that the whole issue of shijin vs shushō is somewhat meaningless. Some journals and news reports, such as one made by Kyodo News Agency on August 15, 2006, question whether in the case of Koizumi's visits, which are consistently claimed by Koizumi to be private, can be considered individual in nature when they are part of a campaign pledge, which in nature is political. Currently, most of the Japanese public and most jurists have agreed that there have as of yet been no constitutional violations.
The views expressed by Yasukuni Shrine through its museum and website are also controversial. Both sites make it clear that Yasukuni Shrine does not regard the conduct of Japan during World War II as an act of aggression but rather matter of self-defence and a heroic effort to repel European Imperialism. Defenders of (private) visits by the Prime Minister point out that, regardless, there is no other venue to pay respect to the fallen in Japan, so that Prime Minister as well as the large number of Japanese who visit the shrine have no choice. Moreover, most people (including the Prime Minister) who visit Yasukuni deliberately avoid entering the museum so that the visit remains religious rather than political.
A number of proposals have been made to alleviate controversy. One is to somehow "remove" the controversial spirits and place them in a different location so that visits to Yasukuni Shrine would not be as politically charged. This proposal has been strongly pushed by China and Korea. The Japanese government cannot force Yasukuni Shrine to do so (due to the separation of church and state). Moreover, the shrine is adamant that once a kami has been housed at the shrine, it cannot be separated. The one method which is suggested as theologically valid is to abolish the entire enshrinement, then repeat the entire enshrinement rite of kami since the Boshin War without including the A class war criminals. Some argue that selective abolishment of enshrinement is technically possible, as there are several precedents of selective de-enshrinement in the Tokugawa era. The Shinto processes of bunrei
and kanjō
exist specifically to remove a kami from its shrine and re-enshrine it elsewhere.
Another proposal is to create a separate secular memorial where the prime minister can make official state visits for memorial purposes. Critics point out that groups representing families of the war dead express no interest in such a memorial, preferring Yasukuni Shrine. Furthermore, the Japanese government already conducts yearly secular commemoration services at the Budokan for the families of soldiers killed in World War II. Afterwards, these families usually make private visits to Yasukuni Shrine, which is located within walking distance. Since the proposed memorial site is geographically distant, were the ceremony to be relocated to the proposed memorial site such visits would be made more difficult. A number of families of the names listed at the shrine have indicated that the controversy is disturbing the peaceful rest of their dead family members and that they wish to pay homage to them without controversy and media attention.
There is in fact a memorial to the Japanese war dead within walking distance of Yasukuni, called Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery
. This could be used as an alternative by Japanese politicians to pay their respects to those who died during the war.
cut short her visit to Japan and flew home before a planned meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
. This was widely interpreted as a reaction to a statement by Koizumi the day before Wu's arrival that foreign countries should not interfere in Japan's domestic affairs, including the Yasukuni issue. Wu's visit was meant to improve strained relations between the two countries following the textbook controversy, and she had planned to ask Koizumi to stop his visits to the shrine.
laws under the Japanese Constitution.
Also in the same month, a group claiming to represent Taiwanese aborigines led by politician Kao Chin Su-mei
attempted to visit Yasukuni Shrine with the sponsorship of the Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace. Their intention was to peacefully request the removal of their relatives from the shrine, and to pray for the return of their ancestors' souls. Request to perform religious rites within the Yasukuni property were refused and they were blocked from entering Yasukuni by Japanese protesters and police. A demonstration was organized by a group of more than one hundred Japanese nationalists to block them from the shrine and prevent them from performing spirit-calling religious rituals within the property the Shrine objected. Japanese police allowed the protesters to remain on the grounds because their entrance to the shrine was not objected by the shrine however they blocked the Taiwanese from leaving their buses, citing measures to prevent clashes between the two groups. After about an hour and a half, the Taiwanese group gave up their attempt. Kao Chin Su-mei and her group reportedly received death threats related to their visit, prompting the Taiwanese government to request Japanese authorities ensure her safety while in Japan.
, told Kyodo News
, "If the prime minister does not pay a visit to Yasukuni Shrine this year, I think Japan would go rotten from the inside and collapse."
On October 12, 2005, Yasukuni Shrine returned the Bukgwan Victory Monument
to South Korean authorities. The monument was erected in 1707 to commemorate Korean victory over Japanese forces in the Seven-Year War. It was subsequently moved to the shrine by Japan following the Russo-Japanese War
of 1905 over Korea. South Korea returned it to North Korea in early 2006.
On October 17, 2005, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
visited the shrine for the fifth time since taking office. Although Koizumi claimed that his visit was a private affair, officials in the People's Republic of China
responded by canceling a scheduled visit to China by Japanese Foreign Minister
Nobutaka Machimura
in protest.
On 15 November 2005, during the APEC summit in Busan
, South Korea
, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing
rhetorically asked: "What would European people think if German leaders were to visit (memorials) related to Hitler and Nazis?"
On May 16, 2006, Henry Hyde
, the Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on International Relations sent a letter to Koizumi expressing his "concerns about the efficacy of an invitation to the Japanese prime minister who continues to make controversial visits to the Yasukuni shrine."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060515/pl_nm/japan_usa_dc_1 Hyde's letter underscored the offensive nature a shrine visit was to Americans who remember World War Two and Hyde didn't want to "dishonor the site in Congress where President Franklin D. Roosevelt made his 'day of infamy' speech after the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor." http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060515/pl_nm/japan_usa_dc_1.
On August 4, 2006, Japanese media reported that Junichiro Koizumi
's expected successor, Shinzo Abe
, had visited the shrine in April. Chinese and South Korean governments expressed concern over Abe's visit to Yasukuni.http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060804/kyodo/d8j9m1ko0.html However, Abe has remained vague as to whether he had visited or would visit the shrine and subsequent events have led some to suggest that a compromise on the issue has been formed with China.
On August 15, 2006, retiring Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
visited the shrine to commemorate the anniversary of Japan's official World War II surrender http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20060815p2a00m0na001000c.html.
In April 2007, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
made a cermemonial offering to the shrine, but did not actually visit himself. According to official reports the offering was made by Abe as a private citizen rather than in an official capacity, although it was reported that the card attached to the floral offering was signed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/08/news.japan.php. Although Abe publicly supported his predecessor's visits to the shrine he did not visit the shrine himself during his term in office.
In June 2007, former Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui
visited the shrine to pay his respects to his elder brother Lee Teng-ching , also known as Iwasato Takenori in Japanese, who is among the 27,863 Taiwanese honored there.
In August 2007, the 16 members of the Cabinet all declared they had no intention of visiting the shrine during Japan Surrender Day. Abe, who at this point had not disclosed whether he himself intended to go, commented "Paying homage at the Yasukuni temple, or not, is up to the individual, even for a Cabinet member. I expect people to use their own discretion."¨
On August 15, 2007, Sanae Takaichi
, minister in charge of gender equality and Okinawa-related issues, visited the shrine in an apparent effort to avoid a rare absence of all Cabinet members at Yasukuni on the anniversary of Japan's official World War II surrender.
Former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda
vowed never to visit the shrine, a commitment applauded by Japan's Asian neighbors. Fukuda's open political opposition to the shrine led to improved relations with China, North and South Korea http://www.economist.com/daily.columns/asiaview/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=10909449. However, a group of 62 Diet members from the Liberal Democratic Party and the People's New Party, including former farm minister Shimamura and Eriko Yamatani, a special adviser to Fukuda, visited the shrine on 22 April 2008.
front-paged an article about the discovery of a memorandum detailing the reason Emperor Hirohito
stopped visiting Yasukuni. The memorandum, kept by former chief of Imperial Household Agency
Tomohiko Tomita, confirms for the first time the enshrinement of Class A War Criminals such as Yosuke Matsuoka
and Toshio Shiratori
was the reason. Tomita wrote down the contents of his conversations with the emperor in his diaries and notebooks in detail. He left 12 diaries (1975–1986) and some 20 notebooks (1986–1997).
According to the memorandum, the emperor expressed his strong displeasure in 1988 at the decision made by Yasukuni Shrine to include Class A war criminals in the list of war dead honored there by saying, "At some point, Class-A criminals became enshrined, including Matsuoka and Shiratori. I heard Tsukuba acted cautiously", Tsukuba is believed to refer to Fujimaro Tsukuba, the former chief Yasukuni priest at the time, who decided not to enshrine the war criminals despite receiving in 1966, the list of war dead compiled by the government containing their names. "What's on the mind of Matsudaira's son, who is the current head priest?". "Matsudaira had a strong wish for peace, but the child didn't know the parent's heart. That's why I have not visited the shrine since. This is my heart", Matsudaira is believed to refer to Yoshitami Matsudaira, who was the grand steward of Imperial Household immediately after the end of World War II. His son, Nagayoshi, succeeded Fujimaro Tukuba as the chief priest of Yasukuni and he decided to enshrine the war criminals in 1978. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060721a1.html Nagayoshi Matsudaira passed away a year ago, which is speculated as a reason for the release of the memo.
For journalist Masanori Yamaguchi, who analyzed the "memo" and comments made by the emperor in his first-ever press conference in 1975, his evasive and opaque attitude about his own responsibility for the war and the fact he said that the bombing of Hiroshima "could not be helped
", could mean that he was afraid that the enshrinement would reignite the debate over his own responsibility for the war.
Another commentator stated that there are three immediate impacts of the memo. http://www.janjan.jp/government/0607/0607228359/1.php Firstly, the explanation of the suspension of the imperial visit offered by the right is no longer sustainable. Those on the right of Japanese politics had attributed the reason for the emperor's suspension of visits to the emergence of controversy over constitutional validity of the visit by the prime minister or the emperor in regard to the separation of state and religion. This claim is no longer valid in the light of the revelation. Secondly, Yasukuni and its lay organisation, Izokukai probably have to make alterations to their stance somewhat. Both organisations have clearly expressed their wish for a visit by the current emperor. Recent rulings by the Supreme Court have also indicated that visits by the prime minister or the emperor are constitutional. However, it is now clear that the controversy over the enshrinement of class A war criminals has to be resolved. Moreover, though the emperor is the highest authority of Shinto, he does not exercise direct control of any Shinto shrine including Yasukuni. However, Yasukuni ideology is clearly in favour of the pre-war arrangement in which the emperor was the official head of Shinto. Thirdly, the revelation clearly shifts the focus of the controversy to the enshrinement of class A war criminals, meaning that the issue of the separation between the state and the church is no longer the main focus. The public opinion is split between those on the left who advocate the removal and those on the right who nonetheless object to the removal.
and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)
agreed to set up a cross-party "group for pushing forward the establishment of a national memorial facility" to bring about the foundation of a secular war memorial dedicated only to "ordinary" soldiers. This would replace Yasukuni Shrine as the home of Japan's war dead. The group was set to meet for the first time on November 9, 2005.
In March 2008, a group of lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party
, featuring Tomomi Inada
, called for boycott of a documentary made on Yasukuni
by Chinese-born director Ying Li about the links between the shrine and right-wing movements such as the Uyoku dantai
. Those lawmakers had asked for a preview on the ground that the movie could be "anti-Japanese". The Directors Guild of Japan
expressed apprehension about the possible infringement of freedom of expression and as a result of the politicians' protests, only about 10 theaters will screen the movie while none in Tokyo.
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
shrine that is at the center of an international Asian controversy. It is a shrine to war dead who served the Emperor of Japan
Emperor of Japan
The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...
during wars from 1867–1951. This eligibility includes civilians in service and government officials. Yasukuni is a shrine to house the actual souls of the dead as Kami
Kami
is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...
, or "spirits/souls" as loosely defined in the English words. Furthermore it is believed that all negative or evil acts committed are absolved when enshrinement occurs. This activity is strictly a religious matter since the religious separation of State Shinto
State Shinto
has been called the state religion of the Empire of Japan, although it did not exist as a single institution and no "Shintō" was ever declared a state religion...
and the Japanese Government. The priesthood at the shrine has complete religious autonomy to decide to whom and how enshrinement may occur. It is thought that enshrinement is permanent and irreversible by the current clergy. Due to the enshrinement of International Military Tribunal for the Far East
International Military Tribunal for the Far East
The International Military Tribunal for the Far East , also known as the Tokyo Trials, the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, or simply the Tribunal, was convened on April 29, 1946, to try the leaders of the Empire of Japan for three types of crimes: "Class A" crimes were reserved for those who...
(IMTFE) war criminals and the nationalist approach to the war museum, the Yasukuni Shrine and the Japanese Government have been criticized by China, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
as being revisionist and unapologetic about the events of World War II.
Of the 2,466,532 people contained in the shrine's Book of Souls, 1,068 were convicted of war crimes
Japanese war crimes
Japanese war crimes occurred during the period of Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Some of the incidents have also been described as an Asian Holocaust and Japanese war atrocities...
by a post World War II court. Of those, 14 are convicted Class A war criminals ("crime against peace
Crime against peace
A crime against peace, in international law, refers to "planning, preparation, initiation, or waging of wars of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances, or participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the foregoing"...
"). The war crimes tribunals were carried out by the IMTFE, which comprised the victors of World War II including Australia, Canada, the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
, the Provisional Government of the French Republic
Provisional Government of the French Republic
The Provisional Government of the French Republic was an interim government which governed France from 1944 to 1946, following the fall of Vichy France and prior to the Fourth French Republic....
, India, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The main problems arose from how the IMTFE used a method of information collection called "Best Evidence Rule" that allowed simple hearsay with no secondary support to be entered against the accused. The Indian Justice Radha Binod Pal
Radha Binod Pal
Justice Radha Binod Pal was an Indian jurist. He was the Indian member appointed to the International Military Tribunal for the Far East's trials of Japanese war crimes committed during the second World War. Among all the judges of the tribunal, he was the only one who submitted a judgment which...
found that due to the significant procedural flaws of the proceedings, that the court was an invalid form of victor's justice
Victor's justice
The label "victor's justice" is a situation in which an entity partakes in carrying out "justice" on its own basis of applying different rules to judge what is right or wrong for their own forces and for those of the enemy. Advocates generally charge that the difference in rules amounts to...
and revenge. As these problems with the tribunals left much to be argued about convicting the accused, and that the living convicted criminals were all released from prison by 1958 gave many Japanese people a reason to believe that they were not war criminals. The opinion of victor's justice was based on that there were none of the victors facing tribunals for mass civilian killings in firebombings of major cities, the mass deaths of non-repatriated Japanese soldiers, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
. Furthermore Justice Pal's position was that as none of the defeated countries would sit in judgment of their own people, as it could never be considered fair. Five of the 11 judges released dissenting opinions. No justice on the court disagreed as to the scale and horrifying nature of the atrocities of the war.
A more recent source of controversy, visits to the shrine by Japanese Diet cabinet members and Prime Ministers in particular have been a cause of protest in Japan and abroad. China, North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and Taiwan
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
have protested against various visits since 1985. Despite the controversy, the former Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
Junichiro Koizumi
Junichiro Koizumi
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended.Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party , he became known as an economic reformer, focusing on Japan's government debt and the...
made annual personal (non government) visits from 2001 to 2006.
Release of documents
On March 29, 2007, a book of documents was released by Japan's National Diet Library called "A New Compilation of Materials on the Yasukuni Shrine Problems" including declassified documents from the Occupational Government, the Japanese Health and Welfare Ministry and Yasukuni Shrine. The documents purportedly draw a connection between the Japanese Government and the war criminal enshrinement. According to Prime Minister Shinzo AbeShinzo Abe
was the 90th Prime Minister of Japan, elected by a special session of the National Diet on 26 September 2006. He was Japan's youngest post–World War II prime minister and the first born after the war. Abe served as prime minister for nearly twelve months, before resigning on 12 September 2007...
the government had no say in who is enshrined. In addition, Vice Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare Tsuji Tetsuo told reporters that the former ministry was "in charge of keeping the personal records of soldiers and civilian employees of the military, and with presenting records as the need arose."
"A New Compilation of Materials on the Yasukuni Shrine Problems" has been entered into the Library of Congress.
War criminals
The shrine enshrines and, according to ShintoShinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
beliefs, provides a permanent residence for the spirits of those who have fought on behalf of the emperor, regardless of whether they died in combat. 1,068 of the enshrined kami
Kami
is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...
were POWs convicted of some level of war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
after World War II. Enshrinement typically carries absolution of earthly deeds even for those convicted at the IMTFE court.
One of the criteria for enshrinement at Yasukuni is that a person be listed as having died while on duty (including death from illness or disease) in the war dead registry of the Japanese government. According to documents released on 28 March 2007 by the National Diet Library of Japan, Health and Welfare Ministry officials and Yasukuni representatives agreed during a meeting, on 31 January 1969, that Class-A war criminals judged at the Tokyo Trial were "able to be honored" as decided by the Shrine Priests and decided not to make public the idea that Yasukuni would enshrine those that were IMTFE criminals.
On 17 October 1978, 14 Class A war criminals (convicted by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East
International Military Tribunal for the Far East
The International Military Tribunal for the Far East , also known as the Tokyo Trials, the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, or simply the Tribunal, was convened on April 29, 1946, to try the leaders of the Empire of Japan for three types of crimes: "Class A" crimes were reserved for those who...
), including Hideki Tōjō
Hideki Tōjō
Hideki Tōjō was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army , the leader of the Taisei Yokusankai, and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II, from 17 October 1941 to 22 July 1944...
, were enshrined as "Martyrs of Shōwa
Showa period
The , or Shōwa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of the Shōwa Emperor, Hirohito, from December 25, 1926 through January 7, 1989.The Shōwa period was longer than the reign of any previous Japanese emperor...
" ( Shōwa junnansha), ostensibly because they were on the war dead registry. They are listed below, according to their sentences:
- Death by hanging:
- Hideki TōjōHideki TōjōHideki Tōjō was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army , the leader of the Taisei Yokusankai, and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II, from 17 October 1941 to 22 July 1944...
, Seishirō Itagaki, Heitarō Kimura, Kenji DoiharaKenji Doiharawas a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. He was instrumental in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria for which he earned fame taking the nickname 'Lawrence of Manchuria', a reference to the Lawrence of Arabia....
, Akira MutōAkira Muto- Notes :...
, Kōki HirotaKoki Hirotawas a Japanese diplomat, politician and the 32nd Prime Minister of Japan from March 9, 1936 to February 2, 1937.-Early life:Hirota was born in what is now part of Chūō-ku, Fukuoka city, Fukuoka Prefecture. His father was a stonemason, and he was adopted into the Hirota family. After attending...
- Hideki Tōjō
- Lifetime imprisonment:
- Yoshijirō Umezu, Kuniaki KoisoKuniaki Koiso- Notes :...
, Hiranuma Kiichirō, Toshio ShiratoriToshio Shiratoriwas the Japanese ambassador to Italy from 1938 to 1940, advisor to the Japanese foreign minister in 1940, and one of the 14 Class-A war criminals enshrined at Yasukuni....
- Yoshijirō Umezu, Kuniaki Koiso
- 20-year imprisonment:
- Shigenori TōgōShigenori Togowas Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Empire of Japan at both the start and the end of the Japanese-American conflict during World War II...
- Shigenori Tōgō
- Died before a judicial decision was reached (due to illness or disease):
- Osami Nagano, Yosuke MatsuokaYosuke Matsuokawas a diplomat and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Empire of Japan during the early stages of World War II. He is best known for his defiant speech at the League of Nations in 1933, ending Japan’s participation in that organization...
- Osami Nagano, Yosuke Matsuoka
All imprisoned war criminals had commuted sentences, or released by 1958.
The enshrinement was revealed to the media on April 19, 1979, and a controversy started in 1985 which continues to this day.
Yūshūkan War Museum
Yasukuni Shrine also operates a war museumMuseum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
of the history of Japan
History of Japan
The history of Japan encompasses the history of the islands of Japan and the Japanese people, spanning the ancient history of the region to the modern history of Japan as a nation state. Following the last ice age, around 12,000 BC, the rich ecosystem of the Japanese Archipelago fostered human...
(the Yūshūkan
Yushukan
The is a Japanese military and war museum located within Yasukuni Shrine in Chiyoda, Tokyo. As a museum maintained by the shrine, which is dedicated to the souls of soldiers who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan, the museum contains various artifacts and documents concerning Japanese...
), which some observers have criticized as presenting a revisionist interpretation. A documentary-style video shown to museum visitors portrays Japan's conquest of East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
during the pre-World War II period as an effort to save the region from the imperial advances of the colonial Western powers
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
called the "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was a concept created and promulgated during the Shōwa era by the government and military of the Empire of Japan. It represented the desire to create a self-sufficient "bloc of Asian nations led by the Japanese and free of Western powers"...
". Displays portray Japan as a victim of foreign influence, especially Western undermining of trade.
Critics say the museum fails to portray any atrocities
Japanese war crimes
Japanese war crimes occurred during the period of Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Some of the incidents have also been described as an Asian Holocaust and Japanese war atrocities...
committed by the Japanese Imperial Army. On the invasion of Nanking, the museum omits any mention of the massacre
Nanking Massacre
The Nanking Massacre or Nanjing Massacre, also known as the Rape of Nanking, was a mass murder, genocide and war rape that occurred during the six-week period following the Japanese capture of the city of Nanjing , the former capital of the Republic of China, on December 13, 1937 during the Second...
and states that "General Iwane Matsui
Iwane Matsui
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and the commander of the expeditionary forces sent to China in World War II. He was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death by hanging by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East for responsibility over the Nanking Massacre.-Early life...
issued orders to observe military rules to the letter. The Japanese established a safety zone for Chinese civilians and made a special effort to protect historical and cultural sites. Inside the city, residents were once again able to live their lives in peace."
Izokukai
The political overtones of Yasukuni Shrine are attributed to two major factors. One is the ideology of State Shinto which regarded any wars waged in the name of the emperor as just and anyone who died fighting for the emperor as an eirei ( hero spirit). But another more immediate factor is the influence of various support organizations, especially the Izokukai , the largest organization representing the families of war dead from World War II. Though Yasukuni has become something of a mecca for various right-wing and ultra right-wing organizations, their influence on the Yasukuni priesthood is said to be marginal at best.Yasukuni Shrine considers the Izokukai as the de facto lay organization for the Shrine. The Izokukai was formerly known as the Izoku Kōsei Renmei ( War-Dead-Family Welfare Union), established in 1947. The original purpose of the Izoku Kōsei Renmei was stated as follows: "With a view to pursuing the end of warfare, establishing global peace and world prosperity and contributing to the welfare of the humanity, we seek to provide relief and assistance to the families of those who died in the (Asia Pacific) war ". As can be seen, the main purpose of the organization was to provide assistance to the widows, orphans and aging parents of those who died in the Asia Pacific War as well as lobbying the government in the interests of the family. However, in 1953 the organization became a trust foundation and changed its name to the current Izokukai. More importantly, the main purpose of the organization was changed to, "In pursuit of the establishment of a peaceful Japan, the cultivation of character, and the promotion of morality, we seek to praise eirei, to promote the welfare of the families of the war dead, and to seek recognition and compensation for civilian auxiliary units." The change, which included the elimination of international pacifism and insertion of a reference to eirei is regarded as giving a nationalist slant to the character of the organization. Chairmen of the organization have usually been members of the governing Liberal Democratic party and the organization is regarded as the informal pipeline between the LDP (hence the government) and the Yasukuni Shrine. In 1962 Okinori Kaya, a known LDP hawk and a convicted class A criminal in the Tokyo Trials was appointed chairman. The organization is regarded as having strong influence over the political overtones of the Yasukuni Shrine.
Politicians' visits
As a result of the enshrinement of the war criminals In Yasukuni, a controversy has arisen regarding Japanese politicians' right to visit and worship at Yasukuni Shrine.This issue first surfaced when Emperor Hirohito
Hirohito
, posthumously in Japan officially called Emperor Shōwa or , was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to...
refused to visit the shrine from 1978 until his death in 1989. According to a memorandum released in 2006 kept by Imperial Household Agency
Imperial Household Agency
The is a government agency of Japan in charge of the state matters concerning Japan's imperial family and also keeping the Privy Seal and the State Seal...
Grand Steward
Grand Steward
The is an official within the Imperial Household Agency of Japan. He is the senior official of the Imperial Household, and is responsible for managing the part of the household staff who are omote, or "outside the house"; these employees serve as drivers, cooks, gardeners, or administrative...
Tomohiko Tomita, Hirohito stated that the reason he stopped visiting the shrine was because of the decision to enshrine Class-A war criminals such as Yosuke Matsuoka
Yosuke Matsuoka
was a diplomat and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Empire of Japan during the early stages of World War II. He is best known for his defiant speech at the League of Nations in 1933, ending Japan’s participation in that organization...
and Toshio Shiratori
Toshio Shiratori
was the Japanese ambassador to Italy from 1938 to 1940, advisor to the Japanese foreign minister in 1940, and one of the 14 Class-A war criminals enshrined at Yasukuni....
. Since his 1978 decision, no Japanese emperor has visited the Yasukuni Shrine. Japanese imperial emissaries have visited annually.
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
and other Japanese Cabinet
Cabinet of Japan
The of Japan is the executive branch of the government of Japan. It consists of the Prime Minister and up to fourteen other members, called Ministers of State. The Prime Minister is designated by the Diet, and the remaining ministers are appointed and dismissed by the Prime Minister...
members, have caused considerable controversy by visiting Yasukuni. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
Junichiro Koizumi
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended.Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party , he became known as an economic reformer, focusing on Japan's government debt and the...
was one of the most outspoken and controversial visitors. On October 17, 2005, for example, Koizumi visited the shrine for the fifth time since taking office. Although he claimed that his visit was a private affair, it came only days before Japanese Foreign Minister
Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)
The of Japan is the Cabinet member responsible for Japanese foreign policy and the chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Since the end of the American occupation of Japan, the position has been one of the most powerful in the Cabinet, as Japan's economic interests have long relied on...
Nobutaka Machimura
Nobutaka Machimura
is a Japanese politician. He is a member of the House of Representatives of Japan and a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He was Chief Cabinet Secretary in the government of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda from 2007 to 2008.- Career :...
was scheduled to visit Chinese officials in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
to strengthen Sino-Japanese relations. Considering the shrine a glorification of Japan's past military aggression, the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
responded by canceling the scheduled visit.
Koizumi's annual visits to Yasukuni continued to draw criticism from around the world. During the 2005 APEC summit in Busan
Busan
Busan , formerly spelled Pusan is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million. The Metropolitan area population is 4,399,515 as of 2010. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing
Li Zhaoxing
Li Zhaoxing is a former foreign minister of the People's Republic of China. He held that office from 2003 to 2007.He graduated from Peking University in 1964...
likened Koizumi's visits to "German leaders [visiting] (memorials) related to Hitler and Nazis." In 2006, Henry Hyde
Henry Hyde
Henry John Hyde , an American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2007, representing the 6th District of Illinois, an area of Chicago's northwestern suburbs which included O'Hare International Airport...
, chairman of the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, stated that Koizumi would embarrass the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
and offend American veterans of World War II if he were to give a Congressional speech after making another visit to Yasukuni.
Koizumi's expected successor, Shinzo Abe
Shinzo Abe
was the 90th Prime Minister of Japan, elected by a special session of the National Diet on 26 September 2006. He was Japan's youngest post–World War II prime minister and the first born after the war. Abe served as prime minister for nearly twelve months, before resigning on 12 September 2007...
, had visited the shrine in April 2006 before he took office. Although this visit concerned both Chinese and South Korean governments, Abe remained vague as to whether he had visited or would visit the shrine in the future. Subsequent events have led some to suggest that a compromise on the issue was reached with China. Abe publicly supported his predecessor's visits to the shrine, but he did not visit the shrine during his term as prime minister.
On June 7, 2007 former President of the Republic of China
President of the Republic of China
The President of the Republic of China is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the Republic of China . The Republic of China was founded on January 1, 1912, to govern all of China...
Lee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui is a politician of the Republic of China . He was the 7th, 8th, and 9th-term President of the Republic of China and Chairman of the Kuomintang from 1988 to 2000. He presided over major advancements in democratic reforms including his own re-election which marked the first direct...
visited the Shrine to pay tribute to his older brother who died in the Japanese Imperial Navy; he too volunteered as a Japanese Imperial Army officer.
The former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda
Yasuo Fukuda
was the 91st Prime Minister of Japan, serving from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving for three and a half years under Prime Ministers Yoshirō Mori and Junichiro Koizumi....
vowed never to visit the shrine, a commitment applauded by Japan's Asian neighbors. Fukuda's open political opposition to the shrine has helped improve relations with China, and North and South Korea. Other politicians have continued to visit the shrine; a group of 62 Diet members from the Liberal Democratic Party and the People's New Party, including former farm minister Shimamura and Eriko Yamatani, a special adviser to prime minister Fukuda, visited the shrine on 22 April 2008.
In the public opinion poll of Nihon Keizai Shimbun
Nihon Keizai Shimbun
is one of the largest media corporations in Japan. Nikkei specializes in publishing financial, business and industry news. Its main news publications include:* Nihon Keizai Shimbun , a leading economic newspaper....
, half of Japanese respondents agreed with the Prime Minister's visit to Yasukuni Shrine.
Political impact
The controversial nature of the shrine has figured largely in both domestic Japanese politics and relations with other Asian countries. The controversy has been reignited nearly every year since 1975, when prime ministerPrime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Miki Takeo visited the shrine as a private individual on August 15, the day that Japan commemorates the end of World War II. The next year, his successor Fukuda Takeo visited as a private individual yet signed the visitors' book as prime minister. Several other Japanese prime ministers
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
have visited the shrine since 1979: Masayoshi Ohira
Masayoshi Ohira
was a Japanese politician and the 68th and 69th Prime Minister of Japan from December 7, 1978 to June 12, 1980. He is the most recent Japanese prime minister to die in office.He was born in present day Kan'onji, Kagawa and attended Hitotsubashi University....
in 1979; Zenko Suzuki
Zenko Suzuki
was a Japanese politician and the 70th Prime Minister of Japan from July 17, 1980 to November 27, 1982.Suzuki graduated from Tokyo University of Fisheries in 1935...
in 1980, 1981 and 1982; Yasuhiro Nakasone
Yasuhiro Nakasone
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from November 27, 1982 to November 6, 1987. A contemporary of Brian Mulroney, Ronald Reagan, Helmut Kohl, François Mitterrand, Margaret Thatcher, and Mikhail Gorbachev, he is best known for pushing through the privatization of...
in 1983 and 1985 (on the latter occasion, he offered flowers which had been paid for with government money); Kiichi Miyazawa
Kiichi Miyazawa
was a Japanese politician and the 78th Prime Minister from November 5, 1991 to August 9, 1993.-Early life and career:Miyazawa was born in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, and graduated from Tokyo Imperial University with a degree in law. In 1942 he joined the Ministry of Finance...
in 1992, this visit was kept secret until 1996 (he had paid a visit in 1980 before becoming Prime Minister); Ryutaro Hashimoto
Ryutaro Hashimoto
was a Japanese politician who served as the 82nd and 83rd Prime Minister of Japan from January 11, 1996 to July 30, 1998. He was the leader of one of the largest factions within the ruling LDP through most of the 1990s and remained a powerful back-room player in Japanese politics until scandal...
in 1996; and Junichiro Koizumi
Junichiro Koizumi
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended.Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party , he became known as an economic reformer, focusing on Japan's government debt and the...
, who visited six times (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006). Visits by Japanese prime ministers to the shrine have resulted in official condemnation by neighbouring countries since 1985, as they see it as an attempt to legitimize Japan's past militarism
Militarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
.
Visits to the shrine are also controversial in the domestic debate over the proper role of religion in Japanese government. Some Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...
politicians insist that visits are protected by the constitutional right to freedom of religion and that it is appropriate for legislators to pay their respects to those fallen in war. However, proposals for the construction of a secular memorial, so that those wishing to honor Japan's military dead do not have to visit Yasukuni, have thus far failed, ostensibly for technical details rather than the rejection of a secular memorial. The Japanese government conducts yearly memorial services to commemorate the War in Budokan (a secular building) which is near Yasukuni shrine, so that the attendees can later visit Yasukuni Shrine privately if they so wish. The shrine itself objects to any proposal that a non-religious memorial be built, stating that "Yasukuni Shrine must be the one and only memorial for Japan's military dead." Koizumi has claimed that his visits are to ensure that there will be no further wars involving Japan, causing some to interpret them as an act of remembrance rather than reverence.
On his first visit to Japan since leaving office in February 2003, former South Korean President
President of South Korea
The President of the Republic of Korea is, according to the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, chief executive of the government, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and the head of state of the Republic of Korea...
Kim Dae Jung
Kim Dae Jung
Kim Dae-jung was President of South Korea from 1998 to 2003, and the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient. He came to be called the "Nelson Mandela of Asia" for his long-standing opposition to authoritarian rule.-Early life:...
openly criticised Japanese politicians' visits to the shrine, and proposed that the 14 Class A war criminals be moved to a different location. He said, "If that option is realized, I will not express opposition to visits to Yasukuni Shrine (by Koizumi or other Japanese leaders)". Kim noted that Koizumi promised at a meeting in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
in 2001 to consider building a new memorial facility that could replace Yasukuni Shrine and enable anyone to worship there without hesitation.
The government of the People's Republic of China has been the most vocal critic of the shrine and some Japanese observers have suggested that the issue of Yasukuni Shrine is just as heavily tied to China's internal politics as it is to the historical conduct of Japan's military and the perceived degree of its remorse for its actions. They state that tolerance on the part of Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
authorities for large-scale public protests in mainland China against the shrine contrasts strongly with the authority exercised against any kind of domestic political dissent. Many have commented on the cultural difference between Chinese and Japanese cultures. Shinto views one's crimes absolved after enshrinement.
French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen is a French far right-wing and nationalist politician who is founder and former president of the Front National party. Le Pen has run for the French presidency five times, most notably in 2002, when in a surprise upset he came second, polling more votes in the first round than...
stated that If we talk about war criminals, aren't those who bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki also war criminals?
Debate in Japan
One controversy of political visits to the shrine is the constitutionality of visits by the Prime Minister. In the Japanese Constitution, the separation of state and religionSeparation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
is explicit. Because the clause was written for the express purpose of preventing the return of State Shintoism, many question the constitutionality of the Prime Minister visiting Yasukuni Shrine. Often the first question Japanese Prime Ministers are asked by journalists after a visit is, "Are you here as a private person or as Prime Minister?" In addition, whether the Prime Minister has signed the visitors' book indicating the position of signatory as shijin ( private person) or shushō ( Prime Minister) is diligently reported. All Prime Ministers have so far stated that their visit was private. However, although some leave the signature section blank or sign it as shijin, others sign it as shushō. The issue is somewhat different than that of visits by the German Chancellor to the Holocaust Memorial, which are explicitly made in the context of a state visit. Prime Minister Koizumi recently gave a somewhat cryptic answer, stating that he visited the shrine as Junichiro Koizumi, the Prime Minister of Japan. Some consider such statement as a move towards making visits somewhat official; others consider that it is pointing out that the whole issue of shijin vs shushō is somewhat meaningless. Some journals and news reports, such as one made by Kyodo News Agency on August 15, 2006, question whether in the case of Koizumi's visits, which are consistently claimed by Koizumi to be private, can be considered individual in nature when they are part of a campaign pledge, which in nature is political. Currently, most of the Japanese public and most jurists have agreed that there have as of yet been no constitutional violations.
The views expressed by Yasukuni Shrine through its museum and website are also controversial. Both sites make it clear that Yasukuni Shrine does not regard the conduct of Japan during World War II as an act of aggression but rather matter of self-defence and a heroic effort to repel European Imperialism. Defenders of (private) visits by the Prime Minister point out that, regardless, there is no other venue to pay respect to the fallen in Japan, so that Prime Minister as well as the large number of Japanese who visit the shrine have no choice. Moreover, most people (including the Prime Minister) who visit Yasukuni deliberately avoid entering the museum so that the visit remains religious rather than political.
A number of proposals have been made to alleviate controversy. One is to somehow "remove" the controversial spirits and place them in a different location so that visits to Yasukuni Shrine would not be as politically charged. This proposal has been strongly pushed by China and Korea. The Japanese government cannot force Yasukuni Shrine to do so (due to the separation of church and state). Moreover, the shrine is adamant that once a kami has been housed at the shrine, it cannot be separated. The one method which is suggested as theologically valid is to abolish the entire enshrinement, then repeat the entire enshrinement rite of kami since the Boshin War without including the A class war criminals. Some argue that selective abolishment of enshrinement is technically possible, as there are several precedents of selective de-enshrinement in the Tokugawa era. The Shinto processes of bunrei
Bunrei
is a Shinto technical term that indicates both the process of division of a Shinto kami to be re-enshrined somewhere else, and the divided spirit which is the result of the division.For details, see the article about the similar term Kanjō....
and kanjō
Kanjo
in Shinto terminology indicates a propagation process through which a kami, previously divided through a process called bunrei, is invited to another location and there reenshrined.- Evolution of the kanjō process :...
exist specifically to remove a kami from its shrine and re-enshrine it elsewhere.
Another proposal is to create a separate secular memorial where the prime minister can make official state visits for memorial purposes. Critics point out that groups representing families of the war dead express no interest in such a memorial, preferring Yasukuni Shrine. Furthermore, the Japanese government already conducts yearly secular commemoration services at the Budokan for the families of soldiers killed in World War II. Afterwards, these families usually make private visits to Yasukuni Shrine, which is located within walking distance. Since the proposed memorial site is geographically distant, were the ceremony to be relocated to the proposed memorial site such visits would be made more difficult. A number of families of the names listed at the shrine have indicated that the controversy is disturbing the peaceful rest of their dead family members and that they wish to pay homage to them without controversy and media attention.
There is in fact a memorial to the Japanese war dead within walking distance of Yasukuni, called Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery
Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery
is the national Japanese cemetery for 352,297 unidentified war dead in the Second World War , near the Imperial Palace and Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, Japan....
. This could be used as an alternative by Japanese politicians to pay their respects to those who died during the war.
Textbook controversy
In May 2005, in the aftermath of anti-Japanese protests over the Japanese history textbooks controversy, Chinese Vice-Premier Wu YiWu Yi
Wu Yi was one of four Vice Premiers of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, overseeing the country's economy until March 2008. Known as the "iron lady", Wu is one of the toughest negotiators in China's government.-Biography:...
cut short her visit to Japan and flew home before a planned meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
Junichiro Koizumi
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended.Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party , he became known as an economic reformer, focusing on Japan's government debt and the...
. This was widely interpreted as a reaction to a statement by Koizumi the day before Wu's arrival that foreign countries should not interfere in Japan's domestic affairs, including the Yasukuni issue. Wu's visit was meant to improve strained relations between the two countries following the textbook controversy, and she had planned to ask Koizumi to stop his visits to the shrine.
Removal of the names
In June 2005, a senior LDP member proposed moving the 14 Class A war criminals to a separate site. Shinto priests refused this proposal, quoting Japan's freedom of religionFreedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
laws under the Japanese Constitution.
Also in the same month, a group claiming to represent Taiwanese aborigines led by politician Kao Chin Su-mei
May Chin
Stage named May Chin, Kao Chin Su-mei , born on September 21, 1965 in Heping Township, Taichung County , Taiwan as Chin Su-mei, to a Han Chinese father and a Taiwanese Aborigine mother, is a Taiwanese singer, actress and politician...
attempted to visit Yasukuni Shrine with the sponsorship of the Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace. Their intention was to peacefully request the removal of their relatives from the shrine, and to pray for the return of their ancestors' souls. Request to perform religious rites within the Yasukuni property were refused and they were blocked from entering Yasukuni by Japanese protesters and police. A demonstration was organized by a group of more than one hundred Japanese nationalists to block them from the shrine and prevent them from performing spirit-calling religious rituals within the property the Shrine objected. Japanese police allowed the protesters to remain on the grounds because their entrance to the shrine was not objected by the shrine however they blocked the Taiwanese from leaving their buses, citing measures to prevent clashes between the two groups. After about an hour and a half, the Taiwanese group gave up their attempt. Kao Chin Su-mei and her group reportedly received death threats related to their visit, prompting the Taiwanese government to request Japanese authorities ensure her safety while in Japan.
Prime minister's visits
On June 27, 2005, the governor of Tokyo, Shintaro IshiharaShintaro Ishihara
is a Japanese author, actor, politician and the governor of Tokyo since 1999.- Early life and artistic career :Shintarō was born in Suma-ku, Kobe. His father Kiyoshi was an employee, later a general manager, of a shipping company. Shintarō grew up in Zushi...
, told Kyodo News
Kyodo News
is a nonprofit cooperative news agency based in Minato, Tokyo. It was established in November 1945 and it distributes news to almost all newspapers, and radio and television networks in Japan. The newspapers using its news have about 50 million subscribers. K. K. Kyodo News is Kyodo News' business...
, "If the prime minister does not pay a visit to Yasukuni Shrine this year, I think Japan would go rotten from the inside and collapse."
On October 12, 2005, Yasukuni Shrine returned the Bukgwan Victory Monument
Bukgwan Victory Monument
The Pukkwan Victory Monument is a stone stele written in Classical Chinese commemorating a series of Korean military victories between 1592 and 1594 against the invading army of Japan during the Imjin War...
to South Korean authorities. The monument was erected in 1707 to commemorate Korean victory over Japanese forces in the Seven-Year War. It was subsequently moved to the shrine by Japan following the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
of 1905 over Korea. South Korea returned it to North Korea in early 2006.
On October 17, 2005, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
Junichiro Koizumi
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended.Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party , he became known as an economic reformer, focusing on Japan's government debt and the...
visited the shrine for the fifth time since taking office. Although Koizumi claimed that his visit was a private affair, officials in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
responded by canceling a scheduled visit to China by Japanese Foreign Minister
Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)
The of Japan is the Cabinet member responsible for Japanese foreign policy and the chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Since the end of the American occupation of Japan, the position has been one of the most powerful in the Cabinet, as Japan's economic interests have long relied on...
Nobutaka Machimura
Nobutaka Machimura
is a Japanese politician. He is a member of the House of Representatives of Japan and a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He was Chief Cabinet Secretary in the government of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda from 2007 to 2008.- Career :...
in protest.
On 15 November 2005, during the APEC summit in Busan
Busan
Busan , formerly spelled Pusan is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million. The Metropolitan area population is 4,399,515 as of 2010. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing
Li Zhaoxing
Li Zhaoxing is a former foreign minister of the People's Republic of China. He held that office from 2003 to 2007.He graduated from Peking University in 1964...
rhetorically asked: "What would European people think if German leaders were to visit (memorials) related to Hitler and Nazis?"
On May 16, 2006, Henry Hyde
Henry Hyde
Henry John Hyde , an American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2007, representing the 6th District of Illinois, an area of Chicago's northwestern suburbs which included O'Hare International Airport...
, the Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on International Relations sent a letter to Koizumi expressing his "concerns about the efficacy of an invitation to the Japanese prime minister who continues to make controversial visits to the Yasukuni shrine."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060515/pl_nm/japan_usa_dc_1 Hyde's letter underscored the offensive nature a shrine visit was to Americans who remember World War Two and Hyde didn't want to "dishonor the site in Congress where President Franklin D. Roosevelt made his 'day of infamy' speech after the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor." http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060515/pl_nm/japan_usa_dc_1.
On August 4, 2006, Japanese media reported that Junichiro Koizumi
Junichiro Koizumi
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended.Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party , he became known as an economic reformer, focusing on Japan's government debt and the...
's expected successor, Shinzo Abe
Shinzo Abe
was the 90th Prime Minister of Japan, elected by a special session of the National Diet on 26 September 2006. He was Japan's youngest post–World War II prime minister and the first born after the war. Abe served as prime minister for nearly twelve months, before resigning on 12 September 2007...
, had visited the shrine in April. Chinese and South Korean governments expressed concern over Abe's visit to Yasukuni.http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060804/kyodo/d8j9m1ko0.html However, Abe has remained vague as to whether he had visited or would visit the shrine and subsequent events have led some to suggest that a compromise on the issue has been formed with China.
On August 15, 2006, retiring Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
Junichiro Koizumi
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended.Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party , he became known as an economic reformer, focusing on Japan's government debt and the...
visited the shrine to commemorate the anniversary of Japan's official World War II surrender http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20060815p2a00m0na001000c.html.
In April 2007, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
Shinzo Abe
was the 90th Prime Minister of Japan, elected by a special session of the National Diet on 26 September 2006. He was Japan's youngest post–World War II prime minister and the first born after the war. Abe served as prime minister for nearly twelve months, before resigning on 12 September 2007...
made a cermemonial offering to the shrine, but did not actually visit himself. According to official reports the offering was made by Abe as a private citizen rather than in an official capacity, although it was reported that the card attached to the floral offering was signed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/08/news.japan.php. Although Abe publicly supported his predecessor's visits to the shrine he did not visit the shrine himself during his term in office.
In June 2007, former Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui is a politician of the Republic of China . He was the 7th, 8th, and 9th-term President of the Republic of China and Chairman of the Kuomintang from 1988 to 2000. He presided over major advancements in democratic reforms including his own re-election which marked the first direct...
visited the shrine to pay his respects to his elder brother Lee Teng-ching , also known as Iwasato Takenori in Japanese, who is among the 27,863 Taiwanese honored there.
In August 2007, the 16 members of the Cabinet all declared they had no intention of visiting the shrine during Japan Surrender Day. Abe, who at this point had not disclosed whether he himself intended to go, commented "Paying homage at the Yasukuni temple, or not, is up to the individual, even for a Cabinet member. I expect people to use their own discretion."¨
On August 15, 2007, Sanae Takaichi
Sanae Takaichi
served in the following positions: Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy, Minister of State for Innovation, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Gender Equality and Minister of State for Food Safety in the Japanese...
, minister in charge of gender equality and Okinawa-related issues, visited the shrine in an apparent effort to avoid a rare absence of all Cabinet members at Yasukuni on the anniversary of Japan's official World War II surrender.
Former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda
Yasuo Fukuda
was the 91st Prime Minister of Japan, serving from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving for three and a half years under Prime Ministers Yoshirō Mori and Junichiro Koizumi....
vowed never to visit the shrine, a commitment applauded by Japan's Asian neighbors. Fukuda's open political opposition to the shrine led to improved relations with China, North and South Korea http://www.economist.com/daily.columns/asiaview/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=10909449. However, a group of 62 Diet members from the Liberal Democratic Party and the People's New Party, including former farm minister Shimamura and Eriko Yamatani, a special adviser to Fukuda, visited the shrine on 22 April 2008.
Emperor Shōwa's visits
Emperor Hirohito did not visit Yasukuni from 1978 until his death. His son, Emperor Akihito, has not visited the shrine since becoming emperor, instead choosing to send a lesser member of the royal household. On 20 July 2006, Nihon Keizai ShimbunNihon Keizai Shimbun
is one of the largest media corporations in Japan. Nikkei specializes in publishing financial, business and industry news. Its main news publications include:* Nihon Keizai Shimbun , a leading economic newspaper....
front-paged an article about the discovery of a memorandum detailing the reason Emperor Hirohito
Hirohito
, posthumously in Japan officially called Emperor Shōwa or , was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to...
stopped visiting Yasukuni. The memorandum, kept by former chief of Imperial Household Agency
Imperial Household Agency
The is a government agency of Japan in charge of the state matters concerning Japan's imperial family and also keeping the Privy Seal and the State Seal...
Tomohiko Tomita, confirms for the first time the enshrinement of Class A War Criminals such as Yosuke Matsuoka
Yosuke Matsuoka
was a diplomat and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Empire of Japan during the early stages of World War II. He is best known for his defiant speech at the League of Nations in 1933, ending Japan’s participation in that organization...
and Toshio Shiratori
Toshio Shiratori
was the Japanese ambassador to Italy from 1938 to 1940, advisor to the Japanese foreign minister in 1940, and one of the 14 Class-A war criminals enshrined at Yasukuni....
was the reason. Tomita wrote down the contents of his conversations with the emperor in his diaries and notebooks in detail. He left 12 diaries (1975–1986) and some 20 notebooks (1986–1997).
According to the memorandum, the emperor expressed his strong displeasure in 1988 at the decision made by Yasukuni Shrine to include Class A war criminals in the list of war dead honored there by saying, "At some point, Class-A criminals became enshrined, including Matsuoka and Shiratori. I heard Tsukuba acted cautiously", Tsukuba is believed to refer to Fujimaro Tsukuba, the former chief Yasukuni priest at the time, who decided not to enshrine the war criminals despite receiving in 1966, the list of war dead compiled by the government containing their names. "What's on the mind of Matsudaira's son, who is the current head priest?". "Matsudaira had a strong wish for peace, but the child didn't know the parent's heart. That's why I have not visited the shrine since. This is my heart", Matsudaira is believed to refer to Yoshitami Matsudaira, who was the grand steward of Imperial Household immediately after the end of World War II. His son, Nagayoshi, succeeded Fujimaro Tukuba as the chief priest of Yasukuni and he decided to enshrine the war criminals in 1978. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060721a1.html Nagayoshi Matsudaira passed away a year ago, which is speculated as a reason for the release of the memo.
For journalist Masanori Yamaguchi, who analyzed the "memo" and comments made by the emperor in his first-ever press conference in 1975, his evasive and opaque attitude about his own responsibility for the war and the fact he said that the bombing of Hiroshima "could not be helped
Shikata ga nai
, , is a Japanese language phrase meaning "it can't be helped" or "nothing can be done about it". , is an alternative.-Cultural associations:The phrase has been used by many western writers to describe the ability of the Japanese people to maintain dignity in the face of an unavoidable tragedy or...
", could mean that he was afraid that the enshrinement would reignite the debate over his own responsibility for the war.
Another commentator stated that there are three immediate impacts of the memo. http://www.janjan.jp/government/0607/0607228359/1.php Firstly, the explanation of the suspension of the imperial visit offered by the right is no longer sustainable. Those on the right of Japanese politics had attributed the reason for the emperor's suspension of visits to the emergence of controversy over constitutional validity of the visit by the prime minister or the emperor in regard to the separation of state and religion. This claim is no longer valid in the light of the revelation. Secondly, Yasukuni and its lay organisation, Izokukai probably have to make alterations to their stance somewhat. Both organisations have clearly expressed their wish for a visit by the current emperor. Recent rulings by the Supreme Court have also indicated that visits by the prime minister or the emperor are constitutional. However, it is now clear that the controversy over the enshrinement of class A war criminals has to be resolved. Moreover, though the emperor is the highest authority of Shinto, he does not exercise direct control of any Shinto shrine including Yasukuni. However, Yasukuni ideology is clearly in favour of the pre-war arrangement in which the emperor was the official head of Shinto. Thirdly, the revelation clearly shifts the focus of the controversy to the enshrinement of class A war criminals, meaning that the issue of the separation between the state and the church is no longer the main focus. The public opinion is split between those on the left who advocate the removal and those on the right who nonetheless object to the removal.
New memorial
On October 28, 2005, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...
and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)
Democratic Party of Japan
The is a political party in Japan founded in 1998 by the merger of several opposition parties. Its socially liberal platform is generally considered center-left in the Japanese political spectrum...
agreed to set up a cross-party "group for pushing forward the establishment of a national memorial facility" to bring about the foundation of a secular war memorial dedicated only to "ordinary" soldiers. This would replace Yasukuni Shrine as the home of Japan's war dead. The group was set to meet for the first time on November 9, 2005.
Yasukuni documentary controversy
see : Yasukuni (2007 film)Yasukuni (2007 film)
is the title of a 2007 film made by Japan-resident Chinese director Li Ying . It took 10 years to complete and had been screened at the Pusan International Film Festival 2007, World Cinema Competition Sundance Film Festival 2008 and Berlin Film Festival 2008...
In March 2008, a group of lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party
Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...
, featuring Tomomi Inada
Tomomi Inada
is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet . A native of Imadate, Fukui.- Former career :...
, called for boycott of a documentary made on Yasukuni
Yasukuni (2007 film)
is the title of a 2007 film made by Japan-resident Chinese director Li Ying . It took 10 years to complete and had been screened at the Pusan International Film Festival 2007, World Cinema Competition Sundance Film Festival 2008 and Berlin Film Festival 2008...
by Chinese-born director Ying Li about the links between the shrine and right-wing movements such as the Uyoku dantai
Uyoku dantai
Uyoku dantai are Japanese nationalist right-wing groups.In 1996, the National Police Agency estimated that there are over 1000 right wing groups in Japan with about 100,000 members in total.-Tennō period:...
. Those lawmakers had asked for a preview on the ground that the movie could be "anti-Japanese". The Directors Guild of Japan
Directors Guild of Japan
The is a trade union created to represent the interests of film directors in the film industry in Japan. It was founded in 1936, with Minoru Murata serving as the first president, and has continued to this day apart from a period between 1943 and 1949 when it was disbanded at first on orders from...
expressed apprehension about the possible infringement of freedom of expression and as a result of the politicians' protests, only about 10 theaters will screen the movie while none in Tokyo.