Abe (Photo : news.163.com)
Prime Minister Shinto Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine in central Tokyo today amid strong negative reactions from Japan's neighbor-countries. Abe said his visit to the shrine on the anniversary of his first year in office was to mourn the dead and not to hurt the feelings of China and South Korea.
“I realize that due to some misunderstanding some have criticized these visits to the Yasukuni Shrine as worshipping war criminals but I promise to open up a new era today in which we will never go to war again,” Abe said about his visit. Japanese media said Abe may have chosen to visit the shrine today, Dec. 26, to silence his critics among Japanese conservatives.
The Yasukuni Shrine has been at the center of international controversy following the view of other countries, particularly China and South Korea, that it is a symbol of Japanese war crimes and atrocities.
China and South Korea both condemned the visit. China's Foreign Ministry said the Yasukuni Shrine is related to Japan's history of aggression and colonization, and that Japan should recognize and reflect deeply on this and respect the feelings of the Chinese people and the Asian victims of its past acts.
But Japan’s Foreign Minister told reporters that he believes a politician or minister's visit to the shrine is a personal choice and should not be used to stir up a diplomatic or political crisis. The Yasukuni Shrine is a Japanese Shinto or religious shrine; any visits there are considered in Japan as strictly religious activity and do not bear upon political beliefs or decisions.
Abe’s visit to the shrine was the first by a sitting prime minister since 2006, when Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi specifically chose to visit the shrine on Aug. 15, 2006, the anniversary of Japan’s surrender to end World War II.
Since 1975, Japanese prime ministers have visited the Yasukuni shrine "in their private capacity." On July 29, 1996, then Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto became the first to visit the shrine in an official capacity as head of state.
Subsequently, former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi also visited the shrine a total of six times during his term of office from 2001 to 2006.
