Japanese Kishida Offers Tribute at Yasukuni Shrine... Abe Pays Visit (Summary)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida offered a tribute at Yasukuni Shrine, a symbol of Japanese militarism, on the 21st. This is his second time doing so since taking office, following October of last year. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Yasukuni Shrine.

According to Kyodo News and others, on the day the autumn festival (memorial service) at Yasukuni Shrine began, Prime Minister Kishida offered a tribute under the name "Prime Minister Fumio Kishida." The tribute he sent was a Masakaki, an evergreen tree offered at the altar.

Kishida does not plan to visit the shrine during the two-day festival starting that day. He also offered a tribute during the autumn festival last October, shortly after taking office. At that time, Japanese media interpreted that Kishida omitted the visit considering the negative impact it could have on diplomatic relations with countries such as South Korea and China.

The offering of tributes follows the precedent set by former prime ministers. The last sitting prime minister to visit Yasukuni Shrine in person was former Prime Minister Abe in December 2013. Due to strong opposition from neighboring countries, Abe only offered tributes during his subsequent terms. Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also sent only tributes during his tenure.

After retiring, former Prime Minister Abe has visited the shrine in person every time on the anniversary of the end of the Pacific War (August 15) and during the spring and autumn festivals. Among current cabinet members on this day, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Shigeyuki Goto offered a Masakaki, and Sanae Takaichi, Chairperson of the LDP Policy Research Council, visited the shrine in person. According to Kyodo News, members of the cross-party group "Parliamentarians Who Visit Yasukuni Shrine Together" plan to visit the shrine collectively on the 22nd.

Yasukuni Shrine is a facility commemorating more than 2.46 million people who died in civil wars and militaristic wars in Japan since the Meiji Restoration. It enshrines 14 Class-A war criminals from the Pacific War, including Hideki Tojo, who were sentenced to death by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo Trials).