Controversies surrounding Yasukuni Shrine
A documentary-style propaganda 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 colonial Western powers.
The original purpose of the Izoku Kōsei Renmei was "pursuing the end of warfare, establishing global peace and world prosperity and contributing to the welfare of the humanity."
[11] 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.
[24] General opinions in Japan of the politicians' visits have varied significantly, with the percentages of those who approve ranging from as low as 38% in telephone surveys to as high as 71% on the internet.
[27] A 2006 public opinion poll taken by Nihon Keizai Shimbun also found that half of the respondents supported Koizumi's visit to the shrine while 37% opposed it.
The controversy has been reignited nearly every year since 1975, when prime minister Takeo Miki visited the shrine as a private individual on August 15, the day that Japan commemorates the end of World War II.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Because the clause was written for the express purpose of preventing the return of State Shinto, many question the constitutionality of the Prime Minister visiting Yasukuni Shrine.
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 a matter of self-defence and a heroic effort to repel European imperialism.
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.
[54] Hyde's Democratic counterpart Tom Lantos also pressed for an end to the visits, stating that "paying one's respect to war criminals is morally bankrupt and unworthy of a great nation such as Japan.
Abe not visiting the shrine prompted a Japanese nationalist named Yoshihiro Tanjo to cut off his own little finger in protest and mail it to the LDP.
"[58] Sanae Takaichi, minister in charge of gender equality and Okinawa-related issues, ultimately 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.
He again refrained from visiting the shrine during the first year of his second stint as prime minister in consideration for improving relations with China and Korea, whose leaders refused to meet with Abe during this time.
He said on December 9, 2013, that "it is natural that we should express our feelings of respect to the war dead who sacrificed their lives for the nation... but it is my thinking that we should avoid making [Yasukuni visits] political and diplomatic issues."
In lieu of visiting, Abe sent ritual offerings to the shrine for festivals in April and October 2013, as well as the anniversary of the end of World War II in August 2013.
Abe said that he "prayed to pay respect for the war dead who sacrificed their precious lives and hoped that they rest in peace," and said he had "no intention to neglect the feelings of the people in China and South Korea.
The Mainichi Shimbun argued in an editorial that the visit could "cast a dark shadow" on relations with the United States and other countries in addition to China and Korea.
"[72] In the wake of Abe's first term, his successor Yasuo Fukuda vowed never to visit the shrine, a commitment applauded by Japan's Asian neighbors.
On July 20, 2006, Nihon Keizai Shimbun 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.
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.
Liu stated that he was motivated by "antihumanitarian acts by militaristic Japan," and said that his (South Korean) maternal grandmother had been a sex slave for Japanese soldiers during the war and his great-grandfather had been tortured to death for protesting.
[90] On May 31, 2024, Dong Guangming, a Chinese netizen identified as "Iron Head" (鐵頭) on Xiaohongshu, posted a video of urinating and spray painting "toilet" at Yasukuni Shrine.
[94] On January 7, 2019, the official Twitter account for Creatures, one of the co-owners of the Pokémon franchise, posted an image depicting multiple employees visiting Yasukuni Shrine.
[95][96][97] On 11 February 2021, Japanese voice actress Ai Kayano claimed that she had taken a trip to visit Yasukuni Shrine, located near her workplace, which upset many citizens of nations that Japan had victimized during its imperialistic era.
