Chinese State Media Criticizes Japanese Prime Minister Kishida's Yasukuni Shrine Offering Ceremony

▲Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Chinese state media has voiced criticism regarding Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's offering of tribute at the Yasukuni Shrine.

On the 18th, Chinese state media Global Times reported, "Prime Minister Kishida made a 'bad start' by sending offerings to the Yasukuni Shrine, where Class A war criminals are enshrined, just two weeks after taking office."

Global Times, citing experts, evaluated that this reflects the rise of right-wing conservative forces within Japan and that a series of provocative acts are undermining the foundation of China-Japan relations.

The Yasukuni Shrine enshrines Class A war criminals from the Pacific War and is regarded as a symbol of Japanese militarism. Prime Minister Kishida offered tribute on the 17th, coinciding with the shrine’s autumn grand festival (memorial rites).

Professor Liu Changyong of Tsinghua University pointed out, "As the influence of the right wing in Japan increases, it has become routine for Japanese prime ministers to offer tribute to the Yasukuni Shrine during their tenure and to visit after retirement," adding, "This is a destructive move that contradicts historical evaluations of the war."

He continued, "Kishida is known as a relatively dovish figure and had never visited or offered tribute to Yasukuni Shrine before taking office," explaining, "He seems to have cleverly tried to avoid backlash by following the precedents set by his predecessors and timing the offering to coincide with the grand festival."

He added, "A large ship can sink through a small hole," and urged, "I hope they do not follow this bad precedent."

Da Zegang, Director of the Northeast Asia Research Institute at the Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences, assessed, "Ahead of this year’s general election, Kishida sought to gain support from conservative factions domestically while avoiding provocation of neighboring countries amid low approval ratings."

Additionally, regarding Kishida’s recent interview with Japanese media where he described explicitly including the possession of 'enemy base strike capability' in Japan’s national security strategy as 'one option,' Director Da urged, "China must remain highly vigilant."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.