China slams Japanese politicians' Yasukuni moves

China strongly deplored the latest negative moves by Japanese political leaders involving the Yasukuni war shrine on Saturday, the 81st anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender in World War II, saying the actions sought to whitewash the country's wartime crimes and pave the way for accelerated remilitarization.

"We urge the Japanese side to do serious soul-searching on its history of aggression, make a clean break with militarism, and earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the rest of the world with concrete actions," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made a monetary offering, while four of her Cabinet colleagues, including Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, and several senior ruling Liberal Democratic Party officials visited the shrine, which honors, among others, 14 convicted Class-A war criminals.

Beijing has lodged serious protests with Tokyo, the spokesperson said, describing the Yasukuni war shrine as "a spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarism".

"No pretext whatsoever can hide the Japanese politicians' true intention, which is to change the verdict on the war criminals, cover up Japan's war crimes, distort the historical facts and pave the way for accelerating remilitarization," the spokesperson said.

Noting that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials, the spokesperson said that viewing and treating history correctly was an important prerequisite for Japan's postwar return to the international community, the political foundation of its relations with neighboring countries and a key measure of its commitment to peaceful development.

This emphasis on historical reflection is also embedded in the political documents underpinning China-Japan relations. The China-Japan joint communique in 1972 says the Japanese side was "keenly conscious of the responsibility for the serious damage that Japan caused in the past to the Chinese people through war, and deeply reproaches itself". That position was reaffirmed in subsequent political documents between the two countries.

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Jiang Bin denounced the hypocrisy of Japanese politicians who profess to pursue peace while paying homage to the architects of wartime aggression, saying that it exposed the Japanese right wing's deeply distorted view of history and dangerous attempt to revive militarism.

He warned that Japan would face "the judgment of justice and a historical reckoning" if it persisted in pursuing "neo-militarism" and became a threat to regional peace.

Since Takaichi took office last October, her government has accelerated Japan's military buildup and pushed ahead with a broad overhaul of its security policy.

It has allowed exports of lethal weapons in principle, begun revising three key security documents, set the fiscal 2026 defense budget at a record high, deployed long-range missiles capable of striking enemy bases and renewed its push for constitutional revision.

Xiang Haoyu, a research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, said that Japanese politicians' provocations over Yasukuni were inseparable from Japan's remilitarization.

He said honoring Class-A war criminals reflected a revisionist view that denied responsibility for Japan's war of aggression and sought to loosen postwar constraints on its military ambitions. Such views were dangerous because they would inevitably shape policy, he added.

Xiang said the convergence of historical revisionism and military expansion would erode trust between Japan and its Asian neighbors, making it difficult for them to regard its military buildup as purely defensive.

Japan should pursue reconciliation through credible, institutionalized action and should neither exaggerate external threats to dismantle pacifist constraints nor pursue defense policy changes at its neighbors' expense, Xiang said.

Criticism also came from within Japan. On Saturday afternoon, protesters marched in the rain, chanting "Yasukuni Shrine is a symbol of Japan's war of aggression" and "No shrine that glorifies war", while holding placards reading "Takaichi step down" and "Dismantle Yasukuni Shrine".

Yoichi Komori, a professor at the University of Tokyo and secretary-general of the Article 9 Association, a civic group advocating Japan's pacifist Constitution, told China Daily that the collective visit by senior LDP officials raises serious constitutional concerns and is politically unacceptable, noting that the Yasukuni Shrine once served as a key ideological base of Japanese militarism in waging its wars of aggression.

Hiroshi Shiratori, a professor of political science at Hosei University in Tokyo, said the visits to the Yasukuni Shrine by senior LDP officials and Cabinet ministers have further fueled concerns over a regression in Japan's understanding of its wartime history.

Shiratori said that Aug 15 should be an important occasion for Japan to confront its wartime history, reflect on the devastation caused by the war and show consideration for Asian countries and others that suffered from Japan's wartime actions.

However, Takaichi's remarks expressed neither remorse toward other countries nor a firm resolve to uphold peace, he said.

Outside Japan, the Republic of Korea's Foreign Ministry deplored what it described as "anachronistic acts", urging Japanese leaders to squarely face up to history and demonstrate through action humble reflection on and sincere remorse for the past.