Ishiba Offers Tribute at Yasukuni Shrine; Takaichi Expected to Refrain from Visit

Maintaining Previous Stance by Refraining from Shrine Visits
LDP’s New President Takaichi Also Holds Back
Visits Curbed in Consideration of Relations with South Korea and China

Shigeru Ishiba, Prime Minister of Japan. On the morning of the 17th, Prime Minister Ishiba offered a tribute in the name of the Prime Minister at Yasukuni Shrine in Kudankita, Tokyo. Photo by Yonhap News

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba offered a tribute on behalf of the Prime Minister at Yasukuni Shrine in Kudan-kita, Tokyo, on the morning of the 17th, according to local media outlets such as the Tokyo Shimbun, Kyodo News, and NHK. This offering coincided with the start of the annual autumn festival at the shrine.

However, the Tokyo Shimbun, citing sources, reported that Prime Minister Ishiba does not plan to visit the shrine in person during the festival period, which runs until the 19th. Since taking office, Prime Minister Ishiba has refrained from visiting Yasukuni Shrine, instead choosing to offer tributes or monetary offerings, similar to former Prime Ministers Fumio Kishida and Yoshihide Suga.

Sanae Takaichi, the newly elected president of the Liberal Democratic Party, is also reportedly planning to refrain from visiting the shrine out of consideration for relations with South Korea and China. Within the Liberal Democratic Party, she is classified as having far-right tendencies and has previously visited Yasukuni Shrine during her tenure as a cabinet minister, as well as on the occasion of the spring and autumn festivals and on the anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II.

Some local experts believe that if President Takaichi, who is considered a strong candidate to succeed Prime Minister Ishiba, becomes Prime Minister, there is a possibility that she may make at least one visit to the shrine, as former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did.

Yasukuni Shrine commemorates the spirits of more than 2,466,000 people who died in civil wars in Japan around the time of the Meiji Restoration and in numerous wars waged by Imperial Japan. Nearly 90% of those enshrined are associated with the Pacific War. Among them are 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).