Japanese lawmakers’ visit to controversial shrine draws criticism from South Korea, China

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About 100 Japanese lawmakers visited a controversial Tokyo shrine that honors its war dead on Tuesday, drawing criticism from South Korea and China.

The Yasukuni Shrine visit came 80 years after Japan’s surprise attack on the US Naval Base Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The legislators, members of several political parties, were accompanied by nine deputy ministers and collaborators of the conservative party in power of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The shrine is seen by South Korea and China as a representation of Japan’s past military aggression, as it honors its 2.5 million war dead, including 14 recognized WWII Japanese leaders guilty of war criminals.

The group of lawmakers traditionally visit the shrine for its spring and fall festivals and for the August 15 anniversary of Japan’s surrender, but has postponed visits since October 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry in a statement expressed “deep regret and concern for the visit to Yasukuni Shrine, which embellishes the colonial invasion and war of aggression.”

“We again strongly stress that the international community can trust Japan when it properly faces history and demonstrates its humble reflection of the past and sincere remorse through actions,” the statement said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the visit was a “deliberate decision and provocation” which “once again shows Japan’s bad attitude toward the history of aggression.”

Kishida, who became prime minister in October, followed previous Japanese leaders who refrained from attending in person during festivals or on the anniversary of Japan’s surrender to avoid putting China or South Korea in the spotlight. anger, as did a visit by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2013.

Hidehisa Otsuji, a senior member of Kishida’s party, said the group prayed during Tuesday’s visit to the spirits of the war dead to protect Japan from the coronavirus pandemic.

Some information for this report comes from The Associated Press and Reuters.

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