The offerings dedicated in the name of "Prime Minister Fumio Kishida" at Yasukuni Shrine in Japan on the 21st. [Image source=Yonhap News]
On the 23rd, Japanese ruling and opposition party lawmakers collectively paid respects at Yasukuni Shrine, where Class A war criminals from the Pacific War are enshrined, according to Jiji Press.
According to the report, members of the cross-party group "Parliamentarians Visiting Yasukuni Shrine Together" visited Yasukuni Shrine in the morning to mark the shrine's Spring Grand Festival (Reitaisai). Lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party attended the event. They have visited Yasukuni Shrine during both the Spring and Autumn Grand Festivals.
Prior to this, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida offered a sacred branch called "Masakaki" on behalf of "Prime Minister Fumio Kishida" on the first day of the Spring Grand Festival on the 21st. Since taking office in 2021, Prime Minister Kishida has not visited Yasukuni Shrine in person but has continued to offer offerings.
After the governments of South Korea and China protested Prime Minister Kishida's offering, the Japanese government stated the previous day that it is natural to show respect (尊崇, highly revering and worshipping) to those who died for the country. Yasukuni Shrine is a facility commemorating the spirits of approximately 2,466,000 people who died in civil wars around the Meiji Restoration and numerous wars waged by Imperial Japan. It also enshrines 14 Class A war criminals from the Pacific War, including former Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, who was executed following the Far East International Military Tribunal (Tokyo Trials).
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