A Defiant Koizumi Visits Shrine Again

‘The Greater East Asia War (the Pacific War) was not an aggressive war.’

‘Stories about the comfort women are pure invention on the part of Koreans and Chinese.’

On August 15, the Pacific War commemorated its 61st anniversary. There were already many right-wing protestors with pickets advocating militarism at the Yasukuni Shrine, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, as early as 5:00 a.m.

Yasukuni became agitated by the news that Koizumi Junichiro, the Japanese Prime Minister, had left his official residence at 7:30 a.m.

In 10 minutes, his sedan slid into the Tochaku Hall, after the Yushukan, the museum glorifying the Japanese War.

The worshipers hailed him, waving the Japanese national flags distributed by a sponsor group of the event.

A bit frowned, stiff look, and dressing up in a black tailcoat and striped pants, he walked into the Main Hall.

He appeared to be imperturbable and more indifferent to outside criticism than last time in October of last year when he made a visit to Bae Hall, next to the Main Hall, in his ordinary western clothes just like ordinary people.

After paying his respects in the Main Hall, he wrote down his name instead of putting his title, prime minister, with 30,000 yen for flowers devoted to the hall.

Last year, the Japanese PM neither signed nor paid for the flowers.

As he returned to the Dochaku Hall in which his sedan was waiting for him for about 15 minutes of his visit, the shrine goers shouted his name, “Great Koizumi!” extolling his visit, saying “thank you for your visit” and “great move.”

Yasukuni was busy with such visitors as Shintaro Ishihara, the Tokyo mayor, Nakagawa Shoichi, the minister of Agriculture, Tetsuo Kutsukake, the chairman of National Public Safety Commission, and many other leading figures from both ruling and opposition parties.

Nonetheless, there is growing criticism of Koizumi’s regular visits to the controversial shrine where Japanese war dead are honored.

Koichi Kato, the former staff member of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party, expressed his doubts, saying, “Mr. Koizumi’s behavior is not only leaning against the sentiment of our neighbors but is also destroying our invisible ties with China and Korea.”

Takenori Kanzaki, the representative of a ruling coalition party, the New Komeito, said, “I have called on him many times to remain restrained from provocation by visiting the shrine. It is really regretful that he made a visit again especially on August 15, the day when Japan gave in to the Coalition Forces of World War II. ”

Yasuhiro Nakasone, the former Japanese Prime Minister, issued a statement that it was a wrong move to make his campaign promise to visit the shrine.

iam@donga.com