People practice social distancing while visiting Yasukuni Shrine on the 76th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War Two, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Tokyo, Japan August 15, 2021. REUTERS/Molly Darlington
August 15, 2021
By Kiyoshi Takenaka
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga pledged on Sunday that Japan would not wage war again, making the vow on the anniversary of the end of World War Two as members of his cabinet visited a controversial shrine.
Nearly eight decades since the end of the war, the conflict remains a source of tension between Japan and its neighbours, particularly China and North and South Korea.
“Since the end of the war, Japan has consistently walked the path of a country that values peace,” Suga said in a speech at a memorial ceremony in Tokyo. “We must never again repeat the devastation of war. We will continue to remain committed to this conviction.”
His comments were little changed from those of his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, at last year’s ceremony, and were echoed by Emperor Naruhito who expressed “deep remorse” for Japan’s wartime past, as he has previously done.
Yet visits to the controversial Yasukuni shrine by members of Suga’s cabinet as well as Abe on Sunday were likely to anger China and both Koreas.
Environmental Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Education Minister Koichi Hagiuda both paid their respects at the shrine on Sunday morning, which honours Japan’s war dead, including 14 World War Two leaders convicted as “Class A” war criminals.
Suga, who is not expected to visit, is likely to send an offering.
Koreans still chafe over Japanese rule from 1910 to 1945, while Chinese have bitter memories of Japan’s invasion and brutal occupation of parts of China from 1931 to 1945.
“Like any other year, I sincerely offered my heartfelt condolences to those who sacrificed their lives in the previous war and renewed my pledge for everlasting peace,” Hagiuda told reporters.
When asked about the opposition from South Korea and China to visits by ministers, he said it was natural to pay respects to those who sacrificed themselves for their country, adding he hoped for understanding from Japan’s neighbours.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by David Dolan and Kim Coghill)
