Overview
- Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday, Aug. 15, drawing renewed criticism from China and South Korea for paying respects at a site seen by neighbours as linked to wartime aggression.
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi did not attend in person but sent a ritual offering and delivered a memorial speech that did not use the word “remorse,” while Emperor Naruhito expressed “deep remorse.”
- China’s defence ministry warned against a rise in Japanese neo‑militarism and called on Tokyo to reflect and atone for wartime actions, framing the visit as part of broader concern about Japan’s security shift.
- South Korean lawmakers from ruling and opposition parties publicly voiced regret over the visits, saying they undermine trust and reopen wounds from Japan’s wartime occupation of the peninsula.
- Yasukuni honors roughly 2.4–2.5 million war dead including 14 Class‑A convicted war criminals, and its status as a private Shinto shrine plus contested exhibits at the adjacent museum make official visits a persistent diplomatic flashpoint as Japan increases defence spending.