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JAPAN: Koizumi at Yasukuni Shrine Again
By Suvendrini Kakuchi
TOKYO, Aug 15 (IPS) - Ignoring the sentiments of neighbouring countries, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi observed the 61st anniversary of Japan's surrender to Allied forces on Tuesday by paying his respects to the war dead at the controversial Yasukuni shrine.
In a press statement later, Koizumi explained that he visited the shrine, located in Tokyo, to pay his respects to departed souls and not to wage war again.
Fourteen of Japanese top wartime military leaders, convicted by an Allied tribunal as "Class A" war criminals, are venerated at the shrine as also some 2.5 million others who perished in the war.
‘'People, including in China and South Korea, have given up expecting
Koizumi to stop visiting Yasukuni. The insistence of the popular prime minister symbolizes a new, more confident Japan and a step away from its old postwar policy that relied on a pacifist diplomacy,'' Prof. Phil Deans, at the Tokyo campus of Temple University, told IPS.
Indeed, the scene at Yasukuni bristled with national pride, recalling its pivotal role during World War Two as the site where Japanese soldiers swore allegiance to the Emperor and his Imperial Army, before setting out for battle fronts across the Asia Pacific region.
Flocking into pathways lined with cherry trees and stone lanterns, Koizumi supporters, many of them veterans in their old army fatigues and also carrying the old ‘Rising Sun' flag, that remains a bitter memory for Asians who suffered under Japanese imperialism.
‘'Koizumi should have come earlier,'' said 94-year-old war veteran,
Mattaidi Katoh, who fought in China
A much younger supporter, Yoshiyuki Oishi, 35, says Japan has repented enough and it is time that a leader pays his respects to Japanese soldiers who fought in Asia to ‘'protect Japan from American invasion''.
Oishi, a banker, has been visiting the shrine annually since 2001 to pay
respects to his grandfather who fought in China and was taken by the Russians to Siberia as a war prisoner.
Such comments have caused China and South Korea to bristle with anger. The lack of repentance from ordinary Japanese is seen as a deliberate attempt to brush over an aggressive past rather than atone.
‘'Japan should look at the past history squarely and win trust from its
neighbours if it is willing to play a responsible role and contribute to
peace and co-prosperity in the region,'' said a South Korean foreign
ministry statement.
Experts say the latest South Korean statement touches on the perception gap regarding the past that divides Japan and its East Asian neighbours - one that now seems to be widening.
‘'Koizumi, who has not experienced the hardships of wartime Japan,
represents the perception of the Japanese of his generation. In contrast to the older conservative politicians who sided heavily with the United States and supported a pacifist Constitution, Koizumi represents an era when many believe Japan has apologized and compensated for its colonial policies and that it is time to move on,'' said Prof. Koichi Nakano who teaches political science at Sophia Univeristy.
Indeed, Koizumi has taken pains to describe his Yasukuni visits as ‘personal' rather than representing the state. His stance of brushing away Asian discontent as ‘'interfering'' and ‘'not understanding'', is deeply steeped in his desire to create a new and more confident role for Japan in global politics.
Since being elected leader of the ruling party in 2001, Koizumi has visited the shrine every year, setting off protests in the neighbouring countries of East
Asia. But this is the first time he made a visit, as prime minister, on the anniversary of the historical surrender, giving it added symbolism.
Supporters such as Prof. Anno Tadashi, at Sophia University who describes himself as an ‘'enlightened nationalist'', defend Koizumi by arguing that Yasukuni ‘'cannot be fully rationalized''. ‘'Rather the shrine must be understood as a particular Japanese version of mythology,'' he explained to the press recently, pointing out that the broader context of visiting the shrine is to redefine Japan as a state with its own identity that includes the Japan-U.S. security pact.
But, as other analysts point out, such a direction will delay regional
harmony and work against Japan. Already China has recorded outright opposition to Japan's push to become a permanent member in the United Nations Security Council, citing Japan's lack of repentance for its gruesome war record.
With Koizumi now nearing the end of his term next month, the key to ending the crisis, or deepening it further, lies with Shinzo Abe, who is likely to succeeed him and is presently chief cabinet secretary.
Abe, a strong younger conservative who supports constitutional revision, is playing it low by not officially stating that he will visit Yasukuni if elected prime minister. But, on Tuesday, Abe asked for ‘'understanding'' from China and South Korea.
In contrast, other contenders for the top job are distancing themselves form association with the shrine. Foreign Minister Taro Aso has said he preferred converting Yasukuni into a secular, non-religious monument while Sadakazu Tanigaki, finance minister, promises not to visit the shrine, if elected.
National opinion on the role of the shrine seems divided. A poll conducted by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper and published last week showed 50 percent of respondents opposing visits to Yasukuni by a future prime minister. Only 40 percent favoured such visits.
Yasukuni is seen by some as a rallying point for those opposed to the continued presence of U.S. military bases in Japan. ‘'We want the U.S. bases out of Japan because of the problems they cause to the local population,'' said Oishi. ‘'We need a fresh start with a leader who can manoeuvre Japan to become a country with a military force that can defend itself against North Korea and China,'' he said. (END/2006)
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