Yasukuni Shrine Visits Resume... Leading Japanese Ruling Party Politicians Visit One After Another

Prime Minister Kishida Likely to Pay Only Tribute Offering Fees

Koichi Hagiuda, Chairman of the Policy Research Council of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is responding to reporters' questions after paying respects at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on the morning of the 15th. [Image source=Kyodo News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] On the 15th, which is both Liberation Day and the anniversary of the end of World War II, a prominent Japanese politician visited the Tokyo Yasukuni Shrine, where Class A war criminals are enshrined.

According to NHK, Koichi Hagiuda, Chairman of the Policy Research Council of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, visited the Yasukuni Shrine in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on the morning of the same day and personally paid for a Tamagushi (a ritual offering made of a sakaki tree branch with white paper strips attached).

Koichi, who previously served as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, moved to the position of Chairman of the Policy Research Council in a cabinet reshuffle on the 10th of this month. The Chairman of the Policy Research Council is a position similar to the chairperson of a domestic political party’s policy committee.

Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi also visited the Yasukuni Shrine that morning, and earlier on the 13th, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura visited the shrine. This was the first confirmed case of a cabinet member visiting the shrine since the Kishida Cabinet was formed in October last year. It is expected that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will not visit the shrine but will offer Tamagushi offerings.

Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The Yasukuni Shrine is a facility that honors the spirits of those who died in the various large and small wars initiated by modern Japan. It enshrines over 2,466,000 people, including 14 Class A war criminals from the Pacific War such as Hideki Tojo.

Among those enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine are about 20,000 people from the Korean Peninsula. However, their enshrinement was carried out unilaterally without the consent of their bereaved families or the Korean side. It is even known that about 60 people who were not war dead, including those who returned to Korea after liberation and died there or survivors, were enshrined. Nevertheless, Yasukuni Shrine refuses requests from the individuals concerned or their families to cancel the enshrinement.

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