Shinjiro Koizumi Visits Yasukuni Shrine... Sitting Cabinet Ministers Participate for Sixth Consecutive Year

First Confirmed Visit to Yasukuni Shrine by a Sitting Cabinet Minister Since the Inauguration of the Ishiba Cabinet

Shinjiro Koizumi, Japan's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, visited the Yasukuni Shrine on August 15, the anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II, where Class-A war criminals from World War II are enshrined.

Shinjiro Koizumi, Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. EPA Yonhap News

According to Kyodo News and NHK, Minister Koizumi paid his respects at the Yasukuni Shrine in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on the morning of August 15.

Koizumi, who has been mentioned as a strong candidate for prime minister, also visited the Yasukuni Shrine on the anniversary of Japan's defeat last year, although he was not serving as a cabinet minister at the time. He also visited the shrine in 2020 and 2021 while serving as Minister of the Environment.

This is the first confirmed visit to the Yasukuni Shrine by a sitting cabinet minister since the inauguration of the Ishiba Shigeru Cabinet in October last year. No visits by sitting cabinet ministers were confirmed during the autumn annual festival in October last year or the spring annual festival in April this year. With Koizumi's visit, sitting cabinet ministers have now visited the Yasukuni Shrine on the anniversary of Japan's defeat for six consecutive years since 2020.

On the same day, former Minister for Economic Security Takayuki Kobayashi and former Policy Research Council Chairman Koichi Hagiuda also visited the shrine. Kyodo News reported that lawmakers belonging to the nonpartisan parliamentary group "Association of Lawmakers for Visiting the Yasukuni Shrine Together" are also scheduled to visit. The report also stated that Prime Minister Ishiba is expected to make a monetary offering instead of visiting the shrine in person. Previously, former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura and Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama visited the shrine on August 13 and 14, respectively.

The Yasukuni Shrine commemorates the spirits of approximately 2,466,000 people who died in civil wars around the Meiji Restoration and in numerous wars waged by Imperial Japan. Of these, nearly 2,133,000-about 90%-are associated with the Pacific War. Among those enshrined are Class-A war criminals from the Pacific War, including former Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, who was executed following the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo Trials).

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