Japan leaders' tribute to war shrine decried

The Chinese embassy in Tokyo has strongly condemned Japan's latest moves related to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine, after Japanese leaders sent ritual offerings to the shrine and some cabinet members and lawmakers visited it.

Japanese peace advocates and South Korea have also voiced opposition to the moves, calling on Japan to face its wartime crimes.

Japan launched wars of aggression against other countries and regions during World War II and committed heinous crimes, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy said on Saturday in response to media inquiries.

The Yasukuni war shrine enshrines 14 Class-A war criminals responsible for Japan's wars of aggression and serves as a spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarism, the spokesperson said.

No matter what excuses Japanese officials make for paying homage to the shrine, they cannot conceal their true intentions of rehabilitating war criminals, covering up wartime crimes, distorting historical facts and paving the way for accelerating Japan's remilitarization, the spokesperson said.

Such erroneous acts desecrate historical justice, challenge the bottom line of human civilization and constitute a provocation to the postwar international order, drawing firm opposition from the international community, the spokesperson said.

Noting that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials, the spokesperson said a correct understanding of and attitude toward history are essential for Japan's return to the international community after the war, constitute a political foundation for its relations with neighboring countries, and serve as a yardstick for assessing its commitment to peaceful development.

China solemnly urges Japan to deeply reflect on its history of aggression, face up to its wartime crimes, exercise prudence in its words and deeds concerning the Yasukuni Shrine, and completely break with militarism, the spokesperson said, calling on Japan to win the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community through concrete actions.

The shrine began its three-day autumn festival on Saturday. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent a ritual offering, known as masakaki, to the shrine on Saturday in her capacity as prime minister, according to Japanese media reports.

Several other politicians, including Eisuke Mori, speaker of the House of Representatives, and Masakazu Sekiguchi, president of the House of Councillors, made similar offerings.

Minoru Kiuchi, minister of state for economic and fiscal policy, and Takayuki Kobayashi, policy chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, visited the shrine on Saturday. Kenji Wakamiya, a special adviser to the prime minister on national security matters, followed suit on Sunday.

Such visits and offerings have long drawn strong opposition from peace advocates in Japan and the international community.

Takakage Fujita, secretary-general of the Association for Inheriting and Propagating the Murayama Statement, said visits to the Yasukuni war shrine clearly run counter to the spirit of the statement.

On Aug 15, 1995, then Japanese prime minister Tomiichi Murayama issued the statement with Cabinet approval, acknowledging that Japan's "colonial rule and aggression caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations", and expressing "deep remorse" and a "heartfelt apology".

Misguided ideology

Fujita said the shrine glorifies Japan's war of aggression as a "just war" and distorts the country's modern history, reflecting misguided and ignorant right-wing ideology.

Japan's postwar reflection on its aggression and the adoption of its pacifist Constitution were intended to prevent a return to militarism, but visits to the shrine by Japanese politicians run counter to the Constitution's original spirit, he said.

Japanese politicians should neither visit the shrine nor show support for it by making ritual offerings, he said.

Rasaru Ishii, secretary-general of Japan's Social Democratic Party and a member of the House of Councillors, said the Yasukuni Shrine is fundamentally different from traditional Japanese shrines.

"Yasukuni is essentially an institution that seeks to sanitize, glorify and affirm Japan's past wars of aggression. It must never be used to justify those wars or reject apologies and reflection on the past," he said.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry on Saturday expressed deep disappointment and regret over Japanese leaders' repeated ritual offerings and visits to the shrine.

The ministry urged Japanese leaders to squarely face history and demonstrate through action their humble reflection and sincere remorse for Japan's past acts, emphasizing that this would be an important foundation for building a forward-looking South Korea-Japan relationship based on mutual trust between the two countries and their peoples.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

houjunjie@chinadaily.com.cn