Japan ministers visit controversial Yasukuni Shrine
Japan’s ministers of interior affairs and justice have visited a controversial war shrine in Tokyo, in a move which is seen by critics as glorification of the past militarism of the country.
Internal Affairs Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is a close associate of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, made a visit to Yasukuni Shrine on Sunday.
Justice Minister Mitsuhide Iwaki also visited the site separately.
Iwaki said after the visit that he sought to express his gratitude “to the sacred spirits of those who fought and sacrificed their precious lives for the country.”
“This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the (World War II). I came here to renew my thoughts for peace,” said the Japanese justice minister.
The shrine is a revered site for the Japanese, commemorating about 2.5 million people who lost their lives from the Boshin War of 1867 through the end of World War II.
High-ranking officials executed after the war for committing war crimes are also buried at the shrine.
Premier Abe, who is an avid supporter of the shrine, made a ritual offering on Saturday, but he is not expected to visit the shrine in person.
On November 1, the Japanese prime minister is scheduled to hold talks with his Chinese and South Korean counterparts. The meeting would mark the first trilateral talks over the past three years.
Abe is also due to meet South Korean President Park Geun-hye on the sidelines of the talks.
Tokyo says Yasukuni is a place to remember the dead soldiers. However, the governments in Beijing and Seoul argue that visits by Japanese officials are reminders of Tokyo’s military aggression during the Pacific War in the 1940s.
Abe’s visit to the controversial site in December 2013 drew anger from Japan’s neighboring countries.
Scores of conservative lawmakers, possibly including cabinet ministers, are anticipated to go to the shrine to mark the autumn festival on Tuesday.
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