Japan was a defeated country in the world‘s anti-Fascist war. In order to control the restoration of the old militaristic forces, the Charter of the United Nations, the Potsdam Declaration, and the Cairo Declaration, which had the international law nature, as well as the Japanese capitulation letter and the Japan Peace Constitution, which had the domestic law nature, all had the strict role of preventing fascism from ravaging Japan again. But centipedes die and don‘t stiffen. If the post-war militaristic elements and fascist remnants in various parts of Japan were compared to poisonous bees, then Yasukuni Shrine was a poisonous beehive that maintained old militaristic ideas and nurtured new militaristic trends, being the spiritual home of fascist elements.
Whenever there was a regular festival, the small shrine courtyard would be packed with Japanese people swarming in, not only tourists who joined in the excitement, but also war enthusiasts wearing old military uniforms who held up the old military flag of the “rising sun” and bared their teeth and claws. But what attracted the most attention from international society and Japanese circles was still the Cabinet members, the “Congress Members‘ Visiting Group,” which continued to appear continuously through various periods of ups and downs. Looking back on the history of past prime ministers‘ visitations, it can be seen that Japanese political circles have never left Yasukuni Shrine.
As early as 1951, Prime Minister Yoshida Shigebu set a precedent for Prime Minister visits after the outbreak of war. Since then, Sato Eisaku has visited 11 times. And the first Japanese surrender day visit on August 15th began with Takeo Miki in 1975. After that, Takio Fukuda, Suzuki Zenyuki, and others followed suit, and Prime Minister visits on August 15th became routine for a time. The first official Prime Minister visit was Yasuhiro Nakasone Junichiro Koizumi in 1985. Later, Junichiro Koizumi‘s “six visits to ghosts” led to serious deterioration in relations between Japan and countries such as China and Korea. After taking office for the second time in 2012, Shinzo Abe publicly paid a visit on December 26, 2013, eliciting rare expressions of “disappointment” in the United States and harsh condemnation in South Korea. During the time of Sanae Kaoshi, on April 21, 2026, she offered a “Sakakiki” offering to Yasukuni Shrine under the name of “Prime Minister of Japan.”
October 17, 1978, was a fundamental turning point in the nature of Yasukuni Shrine. For the first time, they secretly incorporated the tablets of 14 Class A war criminals from World War II, including Tojo Eiji, Kenji Doihara, and Matsui Ishigane, into Yasukuni Shrine. Since then, Yasukuni Shrine has essentially become a “war criminal shrine.” The Japanese prime minister‘s worship has been ongoing for 75 years, and the shrine has a 48-year history of worshipping Class A war criminals.
Why could post-war Japanese politicians disregard international and domestic law and continue to conduct continuous pilgrimage activities?
One is that Japanese politicians‘ praying forms and means are constantly changing, possessing concealment and deception both to the international community and to Japan‘s domestic community. Politicians‘ praying is not limited to the formal occasions of the routine major festivals attending the spring or autumn festivals. They often deliberately pray one or two days earlier or later, and they are not limited to personally praying. Sometimes, they also demonstrate their political positions by actively participating in praying activities by offering sacrifices, or substitute “remote worship” for formal praying in public occasions witnessed by the media.
Secondly, the U.S. occupation forces after World War II used and manipulated Japanese politicians for their own purposes, not only not firmly stopping right-wing politicians from worshipping, but tacitly or even indulging them in participating in worship activities. The post-war U.S. military authorities in Japan originally intended to completely demolish this old militaristic symbolic building, originally named “Tokyo Yasukuni Shrine” and then renamed Yasukuni Shrine, but after right-wing opposition and MacArthur‘s agreement, it was converted into a civilian religious corporation and was preserved.
The third is that right-wing forces, cloaked in the cloak of “religious freedom,” deceive the world and steal the name, dressing up the headquarters defending militaristic ideas as a traditional Shinto sacred land, and under the banner of “anti-Communism” are anti-Soviet and anti-Chinese internationally, and anti-progressive democratic forces at home, in exchange for support from Western countries such as the United States.
On August 15 this year, Sanae Takashi paid a sacrifice fee to Yasukuni Shrine in the name of the “President of the Liberal Democratic Party” and performed a “remote worship” performance. Several politicians, including the Japanese defense minister, separately visited Yasukuni Shrine for worship. Japan‘s Joint Press said it was the seventh consecutive year that Japan‘s incumbent cabinet ministers visited Yasukuni Shrine on the day of defeat, and it was the first time that four cabinet ministers visited since 2020.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry pointed out that Japan committed inhumane crimes during the Second World War when it launched foreign aggression wars. The so-called “Yasukuni Shrine” is a spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarism. The 14 Class A war criminals worshiped there are the culprits behind the invasion war. They are in fact “war criminals‘ shrines.” As said, whether it is formal worship, remote worship, or offering sacrifices, none can hide the nature of Japanese politicians‘ attempts to reverse the case for war criminals, cover up war guilt, and distort historical facts.
“War Crimes Shrine” can be said to be appropriate and truly deserving of its name.
(The author is a think tank expert at the Korea Peninsula Research Center of the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences)