Four Japanese Cabinet Ministers Visit Yasukuni Shrine on Defeat Anniversary... Including Next Prime Minister Candidate

Koizumi Shinjiro, Environment Minister, and 3 Others Pay Tribute
Abe Again Offers Tribute at Own Expense This Year Only

Shinjiro Koizumi, Japanese Minister of the Environment, entered the precincts of Yasukuni Shrine on the 15th to pay respects on the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Pyongyang, symbolizing Japan's imperialist invasion war. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Four current Japanese government ministers visited Yasukuni Shrine to commemorate the anniversary of Japan's defeat in the Pacific War. Among them was Shinjiro Koizumi, the Minister of the Environment and a candidate for prime minister, marking the first visit in four years.

According to major foreign media including the Asahi Shimbun, four ministers from the Shinzo Abe cabinet paid respects at Yasukuni Shrine, where Class-A war criminals are enshrined, on the 75th anniversary of the Pacific War defeat on the 15th. This was the first time in four years that sitting ministers visited the shrine on the day of the defeat. The number of participants was the largest since the launch of Abe's second cabinet.

The ministers who visited included Shinjiro Koizumi, Minister of the Environment, who joined the cabinet in September last year, Koichi Hagiuda, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Seiichi Eto, Minister in charge of Territorial Issues, and Sanae Takaichi, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications. Among them, Minister Koizumi is considered a candidate for the next prime minister. Even before joining the cabinet, Koizumi and the other ministers who visited the shrine on this day had regularly visited Yasukuni Shrine at major events.

This is the first time in four years that Japanese ministers have visited Yasukuni Shrine on the day of the defeat since Sanae Takaichi, then Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, and Tamayo Marukawa, then Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, visited in 2016.

According to Kyodo News and others, when asked about the backlash from South Korea and China, Minister Eto said, "(The way of honoring the war dead) is not something to be influenced by the opinions of China or South Korea." Minister Takaichi emphasized, "How to honor those who gave their lives for the country is a matter for each nation's people to decide," adding, "It should never be turned into a diplomatic issue." Minister Koizumi did not comment on his position.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did not visit the shrine this year either, but on the 14th, he sent a 'tamagusshi' offering at his own expense. A tamagusshi is a decorative offering made of a branch of the sakaki tree adorned with strips of paper made from mulberry fibers. Abe's aide Takatori stated that the prime minister "expressed respect and gratitude to the war dead who became the cornerstone of peace." Previously, Abe visited Yasukuni Shrine in December 2013 but stopped visiting after strong protests from South Korea and China. Instead, he has sent offerings at his own expense annually on the anniversary of the end of the war and during the spring and autumn festivals.