Justice minister visits Yasukuni Shrine

Good to see government ministers using their time wisely after the devastating earthquake in Kumamoto

Tabloid papers report that the priests at Yasukuni Shrine actually don't like the politicians visiting, especially prime ministers. It draws the wrong kind of attraction to the shrine, and makes it s circus rather than a shrine.

Mitsuhide Iwaki is a member of 神道政治連盟国会議員懇談会 (Shintou seiji renmei kokkai giin kondankai ­– Shinto Political Alliance Diet Member’s Roundtable). "This group is dedicated to “restoring Japanese-ness” by promoting Shinto values. They oppose female imperial succession, promote official visits by prime ministers to Yasukuni Shrine, and oppose the construction of a non-religious site of war commemoration and the ‘removal’ of the spirits of  war criminals from Yasukuni, push for constitutional revision and patriotic and moral education, oppose free trade of agricultural products because of what they describe as traditional ties between rice cultivation and Shinto, oppose giving permanent residents the right to vote in local elections and the sale of forest land, water resources, or ‘important property’ to foreigners, and oppose separate family names for married couples and “gender free education” which they see as examples of support for equality between the sexes gone too far."

It draws the wrong kind of attraction to the shrine, and makes it s circus rather than a shrine.

It wouldn't be much use to the politicians if it were anything other than a circus.

Moonraker, that's a right shower of shitehawks you've described there.

Scratch the Class A's off the role call and that's it. This is all about a piece of paper in a house.

“beautifies the colonial past and war of aggression, and enshrines war criminals”.

I think this, and Moonraker's comment, some it up well. Shame on these politicians. If they were truly praying to the souls of the war dead in an honorable fashion they would go to the other place that does not enshrine war criminals. Shame on Japan for allowing it, and in fact for many for encouraging it.

I do support justice minister and other cabinet members visits to Yasukuni shrine,its good to show respect and gratitude to those who fought for the nation and sacrifice their lives.thats why i like and support strongly Abe Shinzo and LDP.I dont care what other say about it as a political visits or those who dont like it,who cares. i appreciate deeply Justice minister visit,and wish all other cabinet member to do the same.

I dont care what other say about it as a political visits

Even if they really are just political visits and the politicians don't actually mean what they say about "praying for peace and showing gratitude for those who sacrificed their lives for Japan"?

No problem at all

Think about this for a minute people: The minister of Justice is also the person who controls all issuance / denial of visas for foreigners in Japan.

This person is making visits to an ultra-controversial and ultra-right wing nationalist landmark. Most likely the visit is only being made in order to anger China and South Korea and increase domestic nationalism and support for war.

What is wrong with this government? How did this country get so bad in such a short time?

Kick Abe and his clown party OUT.

@Moonraker Fascinating stuff. It's a real cult. The people with the weird dangerous ideas can probably defeat the (young) people who have no idea at all (but whose interests run counter to the regression of Shinto Political Alliance Diet Member’s Roundtable). It would be interesting if this cult would ascend a little further. They've more in common with Saudi Arabia than Sweden. Fascinating stuff. I wonder what the Japan apologists who hang around here think of these cultists.

Justice minister visits Yasukuni Shrine

Nothing speaks justice more than honoring war criminals.

How souls. Are enshrined? There are Japanese 'papers named Hanshi. Held, cut in four. Each paper, the name of a deadperson is written by Japanese black sumi ink..At the time after bobbin war, too many that soldiers from only bouchou .. current Yamaguchi ken.... soldiers were enshrined. Just names. As Japan became too busy to wars in Asia, families of dead soldiers only received Hinimaru flags so local gov't helped to enshrine souls to shrines such as Yasukuni. .

Here's an idea. Instead of news media camping outside Yasukuni trying to spot politicians visiting the shrine, why not simply make it a non-issue by refusing to publicize the visits. It;s a well-known scenario, politicians visit the shrine because they know they'll get free media coverage and media fall over themselves trying to get pictures, quotes, etc. Stop the coverage. Politicians won't come, and there will be one less anti-Japan gripe for the Chinese and Koreans.

The problem is not Shinto, the religion. The problem is the use of Shinto to foment militarism, which is the true purpose of Yasukuni. You can't hide this fact.

The problem is not Shinto, the religion. The problem is the use of Shinto to foment militarism, which is the true purpose of Yasukuni.

Yep.

WtFJapan: Weeks before the A bombing, Japan were negotiating a surrender to end the war. Now, that not being hero,s that is a enemy begging for mercy. Yes 1000,s more died by suicide by throwing themselves over the cliffs. But I stated 90% of the people burnt and killed in the underground system of Saipan were civilians during the clean up operation. 10 % were the Japanese soldier who do not surrender. Yes the USA did try to prevent the suicides. That because they could actually could see that they were Japanese citizen. But they could not see who was in the tunnels. So they decided to warn and ask the people in the tunnels to give up or they will get burnt alive. Yes Japan brainwash their citizen that why the citizens would not come out., The Japanese officials have done this for millennium. The enemy is a barbaric killer, who the enemy " everyone who is not Japanese. This is a practice by all nations when at war, The Allies class the the German soldier during first world war has the barbaric Hun. During the second, again they class the Germans has Jew killers, only a very low percentage were. Allies class the Japanese soldier has a child killer and rapist. again a very low percentage were. I am pointing out the bias of commentators with facts Not fact from Allies history book nor Japanese history book. These fact are document facts by survivors who were Allied soldiers and citizens. Not school history book which are design to favour their own country: I have also studied many interview of VC winners dead and alive and all have stated that they not proud of what they did but it had to be done never the less. Why Politician visits this place is to get votes. If it did not win votes you would not ever see any of them there in Public or in Private: Most Japanese think the shrine to honour the Japanese soldier not the Japanese war criminal. Most Japanese soldier joint to defended their country from the Barbarians, that what they believe and die for. Most of my follow countrymen joint to defend their country from the child killing Japanese again only a low percentage were.. Not many Japanese soldiers surrendered because to do so would be shame on to their Country of Japan. THis is another thin line between war hero and war criminal.

THis is another thin line between war hero and war criminal.

There is no thin line between war hero and war criminal, because they are entirely unrelated.

Maybe you don't know what 'thin line' means. It's when something can be considered one thing or another, and the difference is hard to tell. But a war hero is defined by heroic things done during war, and a war criminal is defined by criminal acts done during war. Criminal acts are not heroic, and heroic acts are not criminal. So it's not a slight difference in action that separates them, which would make it a thin line.

its sickening that there are commenters (all Japanese, it seems) who support this action. It relkt undrscores the country's inabiliy ti empathise with victims of its past war time aggression

"But Abe and other nationalists say the shrine is merely a place to remember fallen soldiers and compare it to burial grounds such as Arlington National Cemetery in the United States."

Japan should call on the US president to stop visiting Arlington and chinese officials from visiting the babaoshan revolutionary cemetery. Its only fair. And yes, waterboarding is a warcrime and will taint Arlington. Babaoshan is already tainted.

China has no right to object nor to angry,as far as it keeps stretching its muscles against neighboring countries and aggressively dominance and making troubles to all its neighbors.S.Korea has to stop look back in anger,it makes no sense.Am calling here all cabinet members,and opposition parties as well to visit Yasukuni Shrine to show respect,gratitude and appreciation to those who sacrificed their life to keep Japan great.Those who attack these visits need to learn and educated well how to love their countries and heroes from those who know well how to do it.

its sickening that there are commenters (all Japanese, it seems) who support this action. It relkt undrscores the country's inabiliy ti empathise with victims of its past war time aggression

So, if you were born and raised with nothing more than a cursory understanding of your country's history and you saw your leaders doing the same thing, and wondered why everyone else around the region hates you because of it, could I say the same thing to you?

Don't blame the average Japanese person, they have been taught little of their own wartime history, (actually knew a history professor here who spent a total of one hour over the course of an entire school year, in a JAPANESE history class to "teach" his students about WWII, his excuse, "Japan has too much history these students need to learn, and I only have so much time to teach it. They dont need to know about WWII today" Yeah right, like senkokku era is more important than the events of WWII)

Am calling here all cabinet members,and opposition parties as well to visit Yasukuni Shrine to show respect,gratitude and appreciation to those who sacrificed their life to keep Japan great.Those who attack these visits need to learn and educated well how to love their countries and heroes from those who know well how to do it.

Then they can do so in private, with no media attention, no TV reports or newspaper articles, and no statements about praying for peace and showing respect and gratitude, so there can be no doubt that the visits are sincere and not part of some cynical ultranationalist political agenda to grab votes and cash from simple-minded right-wingers. Does that sound ok?

I think you are right, shallots. It is like a cult. And nearly all the cabinet members belong to one nationalistic group or another. They are not secret groups either. But it is disturbing to me how this information is not widely broadcast to the people of Japan. I am also dismayed that the foreign media don't pick up these affiliations much either. It ought to be big news. I mean it is like German politicians belonging to neo-Nazi groups.

Since these are just lists of names, they can make them portable. Maybe give the parchment list of Class A's to the black vans so politicians can go running after them, like kids and ice cream during every election to get the rightwing Imperial vote. That'll also free up Yasukuni of the righties and costumes and return it back into a proper national memorial

Nothing speaks justice more than honoring war criminals.

This assumes that those judged war criminals got a fair trial and were indeed guilty of what are now generally thought to be war crimes. Richard Minear, a left-liberal American historian makes a good case in Victors' Justice: The Tokyo War Crimes Trial that those convicted were railroaded. The only non-white Asian on the panel, the only specialist in international law, thought the trial had no legal standing.

Kick Abe and his clown party OUT.

You can help out by naturalizing. It's not difficult. There is no fee. Once you have naturalized you can vote. Not only can you vote, you can run for public office.

What is wrong with this government? How did this country get so bad in such a short time?

Nothing new about government officials visiting Yasukuni. It didn't start with Abe or his government. The visits go back decades. If anything, Abe has been much more circumspect than for example Koizumi who was much more in your face with his visits.

Mrs Abe??? Where are you???

bullfighterAPR. 24, 2016 - 09:22AM JST

This assumes that those judged war criminals got a fair trial and were indeed guilty of what are now generally thought to be war crimes. Richard Minear, a left-liberal American historian makes a good case in Victors' Justice: The Tokyo War Crimes Trial that those convicted were railroaded. The only non-white Asian on the panel, the only specialist in international law, thought the trial had no legal standing.

Would that be Rahabinod Pal, who also said, '"the evidence is still overwhelming that atrocities were perpetrated by the members of the Japanese armed forces against the civilian population of some of the territories occupied by them as also against the prisoners of war."

You can help out by naturalizing. It's not difficult. There is no fee. Once you have naturalized you can vote.

If all the PRs scattered all over Japan actually did do you honestly think it would make much of a difference? We can only presume some would actually vote for the LDP, after all.

Not only can you vote, you can run for public office.

Yeah, good luck trying to unseat a 5-term LDP Diet member with deeply entrenched local support and 3 generations' worth of connections and funds. Face facts. If anyone's going to kick out Abe it's going to be indigenous Japanese people.

CrazyJoe

The problem is not Shinto, the religion. The problem is the use of Shinto to foment militarism, which is the true purpose of Yasukuni.

That's an interesting assertion, but I beg to differ. Shinto itself rests entirely on the notion of nativism, of place, birth, and race as sacred. Shinto is inherently adverse to the outside; it is not a religion of belief or conversion. It is a religion of inheritance, or origin. Specifically that of Japan.

Sure, the Meiji restorationists manipulated this tradition to fit their political motivations, but without this core belief existing among the population their ambitions would have gone nowhere. The Japanese population were, for the most part, and like their fascist counterparts in Germany and Italy, willing participants.

@Moonraker So often politicians live in an alternate universe. There should be real journalistic pieces on this. Maybe there are some out there. But what does it take to be drawn into one of these dangerous fascist groups? I know the average Tanaka doesn't care about this stuff as much as being able to gain some opportunities for her family and have some a descent quality life. I don't know the background of these people. But it's sad when the future of society is in question, young people are passive and obedient and in the dark, while elites play around with these cultish fantasies.

Well, "war crimes" is actually made up of two synonyms because war is a crime. Note that the only non-White guy on the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, an Indian, and the only one with actual training in international law, said that the proceedings were a circus. Just the Westerners trying to make themselves look good. They defined the classes etc. It was just victor's justice. So never mind the "war criminals". But I separate the war from the warrior.

Note that the only non-White guy on the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, an Indian, and the only one with actual training in international law, said that the proceedings were a circus.

Japan should sort out the circus that is its own court system before any Japanese people have the nerve to criticise any other legal proceedings. And that Indian still said he believed Japanese war crimes had occurred. But perhaps you would prefer to overlook that.

There are too many names. Japanese people do not call hero (eiyu nopluraru ) only one person. Japanese people call Sensou no giseisha. Remind you Japanese language is not translation of English.

Good for you. Soldiers should be honored for their services to the country.

@Simon Yes, I know that, and I know the quote. But several US participants in the war, in particular, Curtis LeMay, infamously said that had the US lost the war, THEY would be the ones standing trial for war crimes.

But several US participants in the war, in particular, Curtis LeMay, infamously said that had the US lost the war, THEY would be the ones standing trial for war crimes.

Quite so. And if that had been the case what do you suppose Japanese victor's justice would have been like? I suspect that a lot more people would have died in much more unpleasant circumstances, regardless of whether they'd actually committed any crimes or not.