By Tim Kelly
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan marked the anniversary on Thursday of its defeat in World Struggle Two with visits by no less than three cupboard ministers to the controversial Yasukuni shrine that different Asian nations see as a logo of the nation’s wartime aggression.
Defence Minister Minoru Kihara, Financial Safety Minister Sanae Takaichi, and Yoshitaka Shindo, the financial revitalisation chief, visited the positioning in Tokyo, the capital.
Fourteen outstanding convicted battle criminals, together with wartime prime minister Hideki Tojo, are among the many 2.5 million battle useless honoured on the shrine.
“I would like to express my heartfelt condolences today to all those who sacrificed their precious lives and pay my deepest respect,” Kihara mentioned on the shrine, in feedback aired on tv.
The visits are the primary by senior authorities officers since Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol agreed with U.S. President Joe Biden to pursue deeper safety ties.
“I understand that all of them visited the shrine in their private capacity and that it is not a matter for the government to comment on,” Japan’s high authorities spokesperson, Yoshimasa Hayashi, advised an everyday press convention.
“It is natural for any nation to pay respect to those who have given their lives for their country.”
South Korea, a Japanese colony for 35 years, and China, which was invaded by Japan, see the shrine as a magnet for conservatives who need to gloss over their neighbour’s wartime actions.
“Our government urges responsible Japanese leaders to face history and demonstrate humble reflection and genuine introspection,” South Korea’s international ministry mentioned.
“This is an important foundation for the development of forward-looking relations,” it added in a press release.
Supporters of Yasukuni, established in 1869 as Japan emerged from greater than two centuries of isolation, say it commemorates all of the battle useless and never solely these blamed for waging battle on neighbours.
“We can live happily now because our ancestors fought in the war,” mentioned Yuka Watanabe, 50, a customer to the shrine, the place males carrying World Struggle Two-era navy uniforms bowed and marched with flags.
“I don’t think we should ever forget that.”
Kishida, who plans to step down in September, stayed away, sending an providing as a substitute, Japanese media mentioned.
Takaichi is amongst about half-a-dozen individuals touted as his potential successor.
No serving Japanese prime minister has visited Yasukuni, which suggests “peaceful country” in Japanese, since Shinzo Abe in 2013, a go to that prompted an expression of disappointment by then-U.S. President Barrack Obama.
(This story has been corrected to repair the title of the revitalisation minister from Yasutaka to Yoshitaka in paragraph 2)
