Overview
- Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, and Cabinet member Hitoshi Kikawada also paid respects, drawing renewed attention to official ties with the shrine.
- Yasukuni is a private Shinto shrine that honors more than 2.4 million people who died in wars and includes 14 leaders convicted as Class‑A war criminals, a source of regional anger.
- The shrine was removed from state control after World War II under General Douglas MacArthur’s 1945 order, but high‑profile visits keep raising questions about religion and government in Japan.
- Many bereaved families maintain long ties to Yasukuni because the remains of about one million wartime dead were never recovered, which helps explain domestic support for visits.
- Observers say the visit could deepen diplomatic friction with China and South Korea and revive debate at home over national memory, the Yushukan museum’s wartime narrative, and Japan’s wider security posture.