“According to Reuter’s report of the visit, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs “.express deep concern and regret that responsible political leaders. are again paying tribute to the Yasukuni Shrine that glorifies the history of the war of aggression”.
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He first used the phrase at the memorial service past year – the 70th anniversary of the war’s end – in what some saw it as a subtle rebuke to Abe, who favours a less apologetic tone. This year, though the 71st milestone does not have the same global resonance, the date of August 15 continues to highlight discord between Japan and its two neighbors – China and South Korea.
Across the Tsushima Strait, South Korean President Park Geun-hye is trying to reciprocate Abe’s efforts to keep relations on an even keel.
Akihito expressed similar sentiments. “Reflecting on our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse, I earnestly hope that the ravages of war will never be repeated”, he said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) bows to an altar beside Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko during the official annual memorial service for war victims, in Tokyo, on Aug 15, 2016.
China’s Xinhua news agency urged Japan to repent its wartime past or risk steering the country down a unsafe path.
Park, however, stressed the need to look forward in her nationally televised speech in Seoul. The 10 lawmakers visited the island – despite Japanese entreaties to refrain from doing so – and met with security personnel.
“This was out of respect to those who gave their lives for the country”, said Yasutoshi Nishimura, an aide to Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who presented the offering.
Abe on Monday sent a pair of religious ornament to the Yasukuni Shrine, apparently as Tokyo arranges a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in China next month.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said he was aware of the visits but declined to comment, saying it was a private matter for each individual.
Japanese media reported that Sanae Takaichi, a right-leaning member of Abe’s Cabinet, was expected to visit sometime during the day.
A total of 67 members of Japan’s parliament – 59 from Abe’s ruling LDP – visited the shrine en masse in the morning.
Notably absent was new Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, who has drawn attention for her hawkish stance and remarks that appear to downplay Japan’s wartime aggressions.
I don’t think the way a country commemorates people who died for their country should be a diplomatic issue.
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Making sure that Inada was sidelined to Djibouti was one way to allow her to save face while also limiting the criticism that would have arisen from China and South Korea if she had gone to Yasukuni.
