Takaichi Skips Yasukuni on 81st WWII Anniversary as China, South Korea Protest Visits
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Aug 17
Takaichi Skips Yasukuni on 81st WWII Anniversary as China, South Korea Protest Visits
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Aug 17
Summary
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stayed away from Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine on the 81st anniversary of Japan’s World War II surrender, apparently trying to avoid further friction with China and South Korea.
Her restraint was partial: Takaichi sent a cash offering through an LDP official, while Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, three other Cabinet ministers and dozens of lawmakers visited the shrine.
China protested that the visits distorted wartime history and encouraged militarization, while South Korea called the offerings and visits an anachronistic act that ignored history.
At the memorial ceremony, Takaichi again avoided remorse language over Japan’s wartime actions, even as Emperor Naruhito spoke of deep remorse and reflection on the past.
The shrine honors more than 2.4 million war dead, including 14 convicted World War II war criminals, making official gestures there a recurring flashpoint with Japan’s neighbors.