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Prisoners trapped in Yasukuni Shrine 80 years after Korea's liberation

Prisoners trapped in Yasukuni Shrine 80 years after Korea's liberation

Posted January. 18, 2025 07:39,   

Updated January. 18, 2025 07:39

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The deceased remain imprisoned at Yasukuni Shrine even as 80 years have passed since Korea was liberated from Japan's imperialist rule. At least 200 Korean soldiers and laborers conscripted into the Japanese army were stationed on Iwo Jima of them, 137 who died there were all later enshrined at Yasukuni. If there is such a thing as a soul, how could it accept being posthumously included among those who were driven to their deaths under the guise of gladly dying for the Emperor?

The lawsuit was once again finally dismissed on Friday, which was filed by the bereaved families of the victims of Japan's forced mobilization who are buried in the Yasukuni Shrine without their permission. The bereaved families filed the suits demanding the removal of Koreans enshrined at the Shrine in 2001 and 2007 to the Japanese court after finding out that some 20,000 Koreans are enshrined there. However, both suits have been rejected. Lastly, the third lawsuit filed in 2013 by 27 bereaved family members ended in defeat at Japan’s Supreme Court—equivalent to Korea’s Supreme Court.

The Japanese courts have dismissed the cases on the grounds that religious acts of others must be tolerated and accepted. The perpetrators from the history demanded "tolerance" from the victims. The courts previously ruled that there had been no damage to their honor because the names of the enshrined have not been disclosed. More recently, the courts went further to conclude that it is not against the law for the state not to provide the names of the war dead. They have devastated the bereaved families seeking justice by averting core issues.

The Japanese court system did not even care about showing minimum consistency. Previously, the courts accepted the Yasukuni Shrine’s claim that the Korean victims enshrined there have died as Japanese. However, the Japanese government has never paid them any bereaved benefits as it did for Japanese bereaved families. It even excluded Koreans and Taiwanese from offering compensation for Siberian prisoners of war and ignored the issue of recovering the remains of the victims. It seems that Koreans are only considered Japanese when it suits Japan.

By enshrining deceased individuals from its former colonies at Yasukuni Shrine, a key symbol of imperialist aggression, it evidently shows that Japan has never broken away from its wrongful atrocities from the past. Tetsuya Takahashi, emeritus professor at the University of Tokyo, described those enshrined as prisoners in the name of sacred spirits. The year 2025 marks the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties between Korea and Japan. If Japan truly wishes to move even further into the future, releasing these enshrined souls should be a good place to start.