Japan urged to avoid return to militarist past

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made a monetary offering to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, a symbol of Japanese militarism and wartime aggression, on Saturday, as the country marked the 81st anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, while senior officials of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party visited the shrine amid domestic opposition and protests from neighboring countries.

Peace advocates in Japan warned that the country is showing troubling similarities to its militarist past, urging the authorities to reflect on its history of aggression and avoid repeating the mistakes of militarism.

Takaichi also performed a remote act of worship toward the notorious Yasukuni Shrine before attending her first war memorial ceremony since taking office last year. Early in the morning, she sent a "tamagushi" monetary offering to the shrine in her capacity as LDP president, while several senior LDP officials and Cabinet ministers — including Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi — visited the shrine the same day.

Yoichi Komori, a professor at the University of Tokyo and secretary-general of the Article 9 Association, a civic group advocating for Japan's pacifist Constitution, told China Daily that the collective visit by senior LDP officials raises serious constitutional concerns and is politically unacceptable, noting that Yasukuni Shrine once served as a key ideological base for the Japanese Empire in waging its wars.

The Yasukuni Shrine, located in central Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, is a spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarism, and enshrines 14 convicted Class-A war criminals who bear direct responsibility for the country's foreign wars of aggression.

Hiroshi Shiratori, a professor of political science at Hosei University in Tokyo, said the visits to Yasukuni Shrine by senior LDP officials and Cabinet ministers have further fueled concerns over a regression in Japan's understanding of its wartime history.

Shiratori said Aug 15 should be an important occasion for Japan to confront its wartime history, reflect on the devastation caused by the war, and show consideration for Asian countries and others that suffered from Japan's wartime actions.

However, Takaichi's remarks expressed neither "remorse" toward other countries nor a "firm resolve" to uphold peace, he said.

At the ceremony, Takaichi pledged peace, but made no mention of Japan's "remorse" over the war.

Before Takaichi's political mentor, the late Shinzo Abe, took office as prime minister for the second time in December 2012, Japanese leaders had consistently mentioned the nation's aggression and expressed remorse at the ceremony.

The Tokyo Shimbun said in an editorial on Sunday that even more worrying than Japan's view of history is a series of policies being pursued under Takaichi that show signs of a "return to the prewar era", describing the direction as a path of "enriching the country and strengthening the military".

The editorial pointed to moves including lifting restrictions on exports of lethal weapons, increasing defense spending, revising the Imperial House Law, creating an offense for damaging the national flag, and establishing a National Intelligence Council.

It said these policies bear strong signs of a "return to the prewar era", raising concerns that Japan is not only strengthening its military and state power, but also moving back toward a prewar model of governance.

The moves by Japan's ruling party and government officials have drawn strong opposition from peace advocates in Japan.

On Saturday afternoon, protesters marched in the rain, chanting "Yasukuni Shrine is a symbol of Japan's war of aggression" and "No shrine that glorifies war", while holding placards reading "Takaichi step down" and "Dismantle Yasukuni Shrine".

A protester surnamed Miyazaki said Japan must deeply reflect on the wartime atrocities it committed against its Asian neighbors and never repeat such acts.

"Visits to Yasukuni Shrine run completely counter to that," he said, describing the shrine as a facility that glorifies Japan's wars of aggression and criticizing politicians who visit it or make ritual offerings.

South Korea, which commemorated the 81st anniversary of its freedom from Japanese colonial rule on Aug 15, condemned the moves involving Yasukuni Shrine by Japanese political leaders and summoned relevant Japanese officials to lodge a protest.

In a statement, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said that the government cannot but deplore the anachronistic acts of responsible senior Japanese officials, who, in disregard for history, once again made ritual offerings or visited the Yasukuni Shrine, which glorifies Japan's past history of aggression and honors war criminals.

"Our government strongly urges Japan's responsible leaders to face history squarely and show a humble reflection on the past and genuine remorse through actions," the ministry said, adding that it is an important foundation for building a future-oriented bilateral relationship based on mutual trust.

Both South Korea's Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of National Defense summoned Japanese officials to issue a strong protest over the shrine offerings and visits, according to Yonhap News Agency.

In a written statement, Jeon Su-mi, a spokeswoman for the ruling Democratic Party, said the ritual offering and shrine visits showed that the Takaichi cabinet and the Japanese ruling party have openly acknowledged to the world that they stand united in denying the history of war crimes and defeat.

She also dismissed Japanese leaders' rhetoric of a "future-oriented South Korea-Japan relationship" as hollow and deceptive.

Despite the rain, a rally of about 10,000 people was also held in Seoul on the country's National Liberation Day. Participants made multiple demands, including criticizing Japan's remilitarization attempts with an aim to become a "war-waging nation" and its distortion of historical issues, according to local media.