Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is reported to have offered tribute at Yasukuni Shrine, where Class A war criminals from World War II are enshrined, on August 15, the day marking Japan's defeat. Additionally, some cabinet members and members of parliament paid direct visits to the shrine.
According to foreign media, Prime Minister Kishida offered tamagushi (a branch of the sacred sakaki tree adorned with white paper strips) at Yasukuni Shrine in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on the morning of that day.
Since taking office in October 2021, Kishida has offered tributes to Yasukuni Shrine in October 2021, April, August, and October 2022, as well as April, August, and October 2023, and April this year, but he has never visited the shrine in person.
Current cabinet members such as Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization Yoshitaka Shindo visited Yasukuni Shrine to pay their respects. Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and former Minister in charge of Economic Security Takayuki Kobayashi, both considered young politicians within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), also joined the group of visitors. These politicians are rumored to be potential candidates for the next LDP presidential election.
Thus, visits by incumbent cabinet members to Yasukuni Shrine on the day marking Japan's defeat have continued for five consecutive years since 2020. Yasukuni Shrine commemorates the spirits of approximately 2.466 million people who died in civil wars around the time of the Meiji Restoration and in numerous wars waged by Imperial Japan. Among those enshrined are 14 Class A war criminals from the Pacific War, including former Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, who were executed following the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo Trials).
About 20,000 individuals from the Korean Peninsula are also enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine. Their enshrinement was carried out unilaterally without the consent or wishes of their families or the Korean side. Yasukuni Shrine refuses requests from the individuals concerned or their families to cancel the enshrinement.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
