daigo.org RSSThe endless Yasukuni debate
I know its been a week, but I needed to write about Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s visit to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine. It was his fifth visits since taking office in April 2001, there by keeping his promise to visit the shrine every year.
This time, unlike the previous visits, he was not as dressed up, did not sign the guest book as “Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi,” and did not enter the main hall to participate in Shinto style worship and paying for wreath-laying and sacred Shinto tree branches.
Which is a big difference, at least to someone who knows a little bit about Shinto, but it makes no difference to neighboring asian country who still suffers from bitter memory of militant Japan.
As expected by many, the Asian countries are angry and there were protest in South Korea, North Korea, China, Hong-Kong, Taiwan . (Photos)
It even caused hate e-mail viruses
This had a direct impact in diplomacy, too. Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura was forced to cancel a trip to China, and South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun may cancel his trip to Tokyo in December. Now, that is not a small thing.
Perhaps even more scary is unawareness in Japanese people’s part. A telephone survey with 978 random sample: 42 percent of respondents felt the visit was “good,” while 41 percent said Koizumi should not have done so. And to quote from CSMonitor story about the museum next to the shrine (a very interesting read):
Some of his advisers feel that if Koizumi keeps visiting, the world will get bored and forget.
This is just crazy… People, please wake up, this is pretty serious. For example read this article in Newsweek: A Very Lonely Japan
Here is what Koizumi said after the visit according to Yomiuri newspaper:
[Koizumi] said he had not come to the shrine in his official capacity as prime minister. He also said, “I would like to keep explaining [to China and South Korea] that Japan, as a pacifist nation, will never start war again and that it is reasonable to pay proper homage to the war dead.”
“As a pacifist nation” he said. I do think (Am I naive?) that Japan will never invade and colonize its neighboring countries, but he did just extended its troops’ mandate in Iraq, and he and his party is in the middle of “rewording” the country’s pacifist Constitution. I care less about the shrine visit, but those issues, I care. I’ve written about this issue here over and over… It saddens me and worries me.
Even more bad news: Democratic Party of Japan’s new leader Seiji Maehara, labeled “Japan’s Tony Blair” by IHT, promises to be consistent with the LDP on foreign affairs. I had a bad feeling, and it was true. Now he said he backs changing war-renouncing Article 9. Irony is that he questioned Koizumi about Yasukini visit… Sigh. I guess I am now officially a supporter of Japanese Communist Party. Oh my, did I say that out loud? :)
Also a good read: The Koizumi Boom. There are endless articles in Yahoo! News and Google News….
October 27th, 2005 at 10/27/2005 @ 9:33 am
Thank you for expressing these views. Usually, the response from most Japanese I’ve come across in this debate is defensive, that Japan’s neighbours have no right to “interfere” in Japan’s “freedoms”. The irony is of course, then Japan should also respect Chinese and Koreans’ freedom to protest. The larger question is of course that if war criminals weren’t interred at Yasukuni, or if they are there but Yasukuni Shrine represents regrets and remorse rather than defiance and revisionism, then this won’t be an issue.
As such, no one believes Koizumi, his words are designed for the rest of the world, but his acts leave the former victims in no doubt about the message. He has inspired a strong movement in Japan among younger Japanese to whitewash history and to take pride in Japan’s wars.