Japan minister joins crowds at controversial shrine to mark 80 years since WWII defeat

TOKYO - Japan marked the 80th anniversary of its World War II defeat on Aug 15, with at least one Cabinet minister joining thousands of visitors at a shrine that Japan’s Asian neighbours view as a symbol of its wartime aggression.

Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, a contender in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) leadership race in 2024, arrived at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo early on Aug 15, local media reported. 

Among the 2.5 million war dead commemorated at the shrine are 14 wartime leaders convicted of the most serious war crimes, along with over 1,000 others found guilty by Allied tribunals after Japan’s 1945 defeat.

China and South Korea have criticised past visits by senior Japanese officials that they say gloss over Tokyo’s wartime actions and damage diplomatic ties. Supporters say the shrine honours all of Japan’s war dead, regardless of their roles.  

“It is important never to forget to show respect to those who gave their lives for their country, regardless of which nation it is. I believe this is a very important principle,” Mr Koizumi told reporters.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attended a separate war memorial event in Tokyo along with Emperor Naruhito.

“Aug 15 is a day to mourn the war dead and commemorate peace. The government will continue to express gratitude to the war dead and their families,” government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a regular press briefing.

No sitting Japanese prime minister has visited the shrine since Mr Shinzo Abe in December 2013, which drew an expression of disappointment from then US President Barack Obama. The last premier to visit on the anniversary of Japan’s surrender was Mr Koizumi’s father Junichiro Koizumi in 2006. 

Former economic security ministers Sanae Takaichi and Takayuki Kobayashi also visited the shrine, local media reported. Both ran in the 2024 LDP leadership election.

Mr Ishiba sent an offering to Yasukuni, Kyodo News reported. 

Another offering he made last October provoked criticism from both South Korea, a Japanese colony for 35 years, and China, whose territories were occupied by Japanese forces during World War II.

At a press conference, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi did not directly comment on the Yasukuni visits but said: “Only by facing up to history can one earn respect; only by learning from history can one chart a better future; only by remembering the past can we avoid repeating the same mistakes. We urge Japan to make the right choice.”

Mr Ishiba is expected to meet South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung when he visits Japan from Aug 23 to 24 to discuss regional security and trilateral ties with the US.

Celebrating the Aug 15 liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Mr Lee said the two countries’ relationship should be “forward-looking”, based on pragmatic diplomacy focusing on Seoul’s national interest.

While relations between Tokyo and Seoul have often been strained, in recent years, the two countries have deepened security cooperation to counter China’s growing influence and the threat posed to both by nuclear-armed North Korea.

As many as 88 national and local lawmakers from Japan’s far-right Sanseito Party also visited Yasukuni on Aug 15. The “Japanese First” party wants to curb immigration, which it says is a threat to Japanese culture.

In July’s Upper House election, it won 13 new seats, drawing support away from Mr Ishiba’s LDP. REUTERS