Yasukuni glorifies Japan's inglorious past

Japanese Ghost: Yasukuni Shrine

In the field of diplomacy, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could be better described as "Downturn Abe".

His visit to the Yasukuni Shrine is a calculated rebuff to those in Japan who seek better diplomatic relations and warms the hearts of those who want Japan to be a major military power and jettison any constitutional restraints preventing this.

The Yasukuni Shrine does not serve the same purpose as Arlington National Cemetery in the United States, or the Cenotaph in the United Kingdom. No bodies are buried at Yasukuni Shrine. Japan's head of state refuses to visit. Indeed, no emperor has set foot inside the shrine since 1975, three years before the souls of war criminals were interred there by Shinto priests. News of the enshrinement was kept quiet for months.

The late emperor Hirohito refused to go there after convicted war criminals, seven of whom were hanged, were secretly enshrined in 1978, joining about 2.5 million other Japanese who died in battle in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Hirohito had paid his respects at Yasukuni eight times after the war but made his final visit in 1975 by which time, according to palace documents, he became disillusioned with the way the shrine was being managed and what it was trying to represent.

His son, Emperor Akihito, has never visited.

Japan does have a national cemetery, with the remains of the war dead, in Chidorigafuchi, just up the road from Yasukuni. Few politicians visit.

Yasukuni has a specific role: It pays homage to, and celebrates, unapologetic militarism. This piece of Tokyo real estate, close to the Imperial Palace, with its broad avenue lined by cherry blossom trees, is considered holy ground by extreme nationalists.

It is a shrine dedicated to glorifying war, empire and unrepentant militarism.

It is a privately run shrine that enjoys the close patronage of the Japan Association of War Bereaved. The association has, and continues to enjoy, close ties to the governing Liberal Democratic Party.

The Yushukan museum, attached to the shrine, is a land of make-believe for militarists. It claims that Japan was forced into war by the US, and that Tokyo waged an honorable campaign to free Asia from white European colonialism. This time frame, conveniently, leaves out the rapacious behavior of Japanese troops in China before Pearl Harbor.

A Zero fighter aircraft greets visitors at the museum's entrance. No mention is made of the Nanjing Massacre or the razing of Manila. A giant mural depicts the Battle of Tokyo Bay. No battle ever took place.

During World War II, a ballad popular with Japanese troops heading off to fight had the following refrain: "You and I are cherry blossoms of the same year. Even if we're far apart when our petals fall, we'll bloom again in the treetops of Yasukuni Shrine."

Abe is nurturing the roots of those cherry blossom trees.

By Tom Clifford, a senior copy editor of China Daily USA

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Japan PM Abe's visits to Yasukuni glorifying Japan's war criminals, stirs new tension in Asia!

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (2nd L) is led by a Shinto priest as he visits Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo December 26, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Exclusive interview: Abe accused of internationally insulting China and ROK CCTV News - CNTV English

Serious consequences warned after Abe pays war tribute

Shinzo Abe stunned the international community on Thursday by making himself the first sitting Japanese prime minister in seven years to visit a shrine that honors 14 World War II Class A war criminals among the country's war dead.

The abrupt move — widely viewed as rewriting public memory on Japan's militaristic past — enraged Japan's victimized neighbors including China and South Korea and disappointed Japan's traditional ally the United States.

Observers said the hard-core nationalist Abe is ruining the stability of Northeast Asia and that he seems to believe it is worthwhile to sacrifice honesty about history in order to revitalize Japan's assertive style of expansion before World War II.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi summoned Japanese Ambassador to China Masato Kitera to lodge a strong protest on Thursday. Beijing vowed zerotolerance for Abe's touching the bottom of the bilateral relationship, and for betraying the commitment of his government and his predecessors, he said.

Japan must bear "full responsibility for the serious political consequences" of the visit, he said, adding Abe's action has pushed Japan in an "extremely dangerous" direction.

The shrine used to serve as a spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militaristic aggression, and Abe's pilgrimage is "a flagrant provocation against international justice", Wang said.

South Korean Culture Minister Yoo Jin-ryong said in a statement that "our government cannot repress lamentation and rage over Abe's paying of respects at the Yasukuni shrine, which glorifies its colonial aggression and enshrines war criminals".

A few hours after Abe went to the shrine, the US Embassy in Japan released a written statement saying that "the United States is disappointed that Japan's leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan's neighbors."

Washington hopes that Japan and its neighbors will "find constructive ways" to deal with sensitive issues from the past, the statement said.

Yang Bojiang, deputy director of the Institute of Japan Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Abe's visit will deal a heavy blow to Japan's international image and further isolate the country.

"Abe is risking support from within both Japan and the United States, and his political life will come to an earlier end," Yang warned.

Japan has strained its diplomatic relationships with China, South Korea and Russia in the past two years because of disputes over islands and historical issues, and the situation has also been a headache for Washington.

James Fallows, a national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, said, "there is almost nothing a Japanese prime minister could have done that would have inflamed tempers more along the Japan-China-South Korea-US axis than to make this visit".

"Americans who visit the ‘historical' museum at the shrine (as I have done) will note its portrayal of Japan being "forced" into World War II by US economic and military encirclement," Fallows wrote in his latest online article.

Abe is deliberately stirring up the situation to "make sure the tension does not fade away", said Feng Wei, a professor of Japanese studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

"Because there will be no more excuses for his plan of revising Japan's pacifist Constitution if there is no tension in Japan's neighborhood," Feng said.

The visit was made as Abe's public support this month dropped to a record low since he retook office last December.

Akihiro Nonaka, a professor at the School of Political Science at Waseda University in Tokyo, said "the enshrining of the Class A criminals is unconstitutional, according to Japan's Supreme Court".

"He does not show respect for the countless Asian people who died in the war," Nonaka added.

Zhou Yongsheng, a professor of Japanese studies at China Foreign Affairs University, said what is behind Abe's pilgrimage is the accelerating pace of the Japanese government in seeking a right-wing style of governing, which is "bringing a huge threat to regional peace".

"As Abe is bent on eliminating all legislative restrictions against Japanese armed forces waging a war, the international community will be unable to rein in Japan from taking such a dangerous step," Zhou warned.

- China Daily USA

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Japan unveils new warship 'Izumo', a destroyer/copter carrier on atomic bombing anniversary

 
Japan's newest warship is covered with decoration tape and confetti as it is pictured during a launch ceremony in Yokohama on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

It's being called a destroyer, or perhaps a helicopter carrier. But by any name, Japan's new warship, unveiled Tuesday, is the largest it has built since World War II. The ship was shown to the public on the anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and at a time of escalating tensions with China.

China on Tuesday called on Japan to abide by its policy of peaceful development and warned against its military expansion after Tokyo unveiled its biggest warship since World War II on the 68th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.



"We are concerned over Japan's constant expansion of its military equipment. Japan's Asian neighbors and the international community need to be highly vigilant about this trend," the Chinese defense ministry told the Global Times.

"Japan should learn from history, adhere to its policy of self-defense and abide by its promise to take the road of peaceful development," it said.

Japan on Tuesday held a ceremony in the port city of Yokohama to launch the country's new-generation 22DDH-class helicopter carrier.

With a length of 248 meters, the $1.14 billion carrier, named Izumo, has a full load displacement of 27,000 tons, with its flight deck being able to carry up to 14 helicopters.

The Izumo, scheduled to enter service in March 2015, is the third helicopter carrier to be used by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. But the new warship marks a major improvement in size and capability as it is almost 50 percent larger than the current Hyuga-class carriers.

The Japanese-built carrier could play a major role in disaster and rescue missions, as well as defending sea lanes and sovereignty claims, the Japanese defense ministry has said.

The launch of the warship came as Japan is embroiled in an island dispute with China in the East China Sea and the Japanese government is mulling a change of interpretation to Japan's pacifist constitution to grant its military a bigger role.

Li Daguang, a professor at the National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army, told the Global Times that Japan's 22DDH helicopter carrier is actually capable of conducting military operations as an aircraft carrier, but due to restraints by the country's constitution, Japan is unable to equip it with fighter jets.

Japan was defeated in World War II and according to its post-war constitution, it is not allowed to possess offensive weaponry, such as nuclear submarines or aircraft carriers.

"But since it still carries large numbers of advanced attack and anti-submarine helicopters and other weapons, the vessel can still be seen as an aircraft carrier in disguise," Li noted.

Li said the Izumo could significantly improve the combat capability of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and could potentially change the power balance between China and Japan's naval forces.

"Japan tops the world in terms of its anti-submarine capability and the warship would further consolidate its advantage," he said.

China inaugurated its first aircraft carrier, the approximately 300-meter long Liaoning, in September 2012. It was built around a Soviet-era hull and can carry an estimated 50 fighter jets.

But Li said that the two vessels cannot be compared. "The Liaoning was mainly built for training purposes while the Izumo was built for a real war."

Japan's military right-wing shift is the natural result of the country's political right-wing shift, said Liu Jiangyong, deputy head of the Institute of Modern International Relations at Tsinghua University.

He told the Global Times that the launch of the new warship, a de facto aircraft carrier, without the approval of the Japanese Diet is an effort by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government to break the limits of its peaceful constitution.

"Tokyo wanted to use such an established fact to tell the Japanese public that Japan's constitution has in reality been revised," he added.

In addition to Japan's military buildup, neighboring countries are also concerned about Tokyo's attitude toward its militaristic past.

Abe on Tuesday declined to confirm whether he will visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine on August 15, the anniversary of Japan's surrender during the World War II, but said his cabinet ministers are free to go.

"I will not respond whether I will visit. Whether cabinet ministers will visit in their private capacity is an issue of their belief. So they are free" to go, he was quoted by Japan's Kyodo News as saying. "I will not request my ministers to visit or not to visit [the shrine]. I should not do that."

Government and ruling party sources told Kyodo last week that Abe would not visit Yasukuni on the anniversary to refrain from worsening Japan's relations with China and South Korea.

AFP contributed to this story

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Japan's Yoshihiko Noda,the leader of the losing Democratic Party of Japan, told voters: 'I apologize deeply for our failure to achieve results.' (Issei Kato/Reuters

The LDP's key ally, the New Komeito Party, got 31 seats, helping the two-party coalition gain 325 seats in the lower house.

The Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) leader Shinzo Abe served as Prime Minister from 2006 to 2007. (Yuriko Nakao/Reuters) Japan's conservative Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in a landslide election victory Sunday after three years in opposition, exit polls showed, signalling a rightward shift in the government that could further heighten tensions with rival China.

The victory means that the hawkish former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will get a second chance to lead the nation after a one-year stint in 2006-2007. He would be Japan's seventh prime minister in six-and-a-half years.

Public broadcaster NHK's exit polls projected that the LDP, which ruled Japan for most of the post-World War II era until it was dumped in 2009, won between 275 and 300 seats in the 480-seat lower house of parliament. Official results were not expected until Monday morning. Before the election, it had 118 seats.

The results were a sharp rebuke for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's ruling Democratic Party of Japan, reflecting widespread unhappiness for its failure to keep campaign promises and get the stagnant economy going during its three years in power.

With Japan stuck in a two-decade slump and receding behind China as the region's most important economic player, voters appeared ready to turn back to the LDP.

A serious-looking Abe characterized the win as more of a protest vote against the DPJ than a strong endorsement of his party.

"I think the results do not mean we have regained the public's trust 100 per cent. Rather, they reflect 'no votes' to the DPJ's politics that stalled everything the past three years," he told NHK. "Now we are facing the test of how we can live up to the public's expectations, and we have to answer that question."

The ruling Democrats, which won in a landslide three years ago amid high hopes for change, captured less than 100 seats, exit polls indicated, down sharply from its pre-election strength of 230.

Calling the results "severe," Noda told a late-night news conference he was stepping down to take responsibility for the defeat.

'It was the voters' judgment to our failure to live up to their expectations.'—Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on his party's loss

"I apologize deeply for our failure to achieve results," he said. "It was the voters' judgment to our failure to live up to their expectations during our three years and three months of leadership."

The LDP will stick with its long-time partner New Komeito, backed by a large Buddhist organization, to form a coalition government, party officials said. Together, they will probably control about 320 seats, NHK projected — a two-thirds majority that would make it easier for the government to pass legislation.

Noda said a special parliamentary session would be held before year-end to pick a new prime minister. As leader of the biggest party in the lower house, Abe will almost certainly assume that post.

The new government will need to quickly deliver results ahead of upper house elections in the summer. To revive Japan's struggling economy, Abe will likely push for increased public works spending and lobby for stronger moves by the central bank to break Japan out of its deflationary trap.

'Restore some national pride'

Still, some voters said they supported the LDP's vows to build a stronger, more assertive country to answer increasing pressure from China and threats of North Korean rocket launches. Abe has repeatedly said he will protect Japan's "territory and beautiful seas" amid a territorial dispute with China over some uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.
 
The nationalistic, populist Japan Restoration Party is also expected to capture a few seats and perhaps, form a coalition with the new ruling party. (Yuriko Nakao/Reuters)

 "
I feel like the LDP will protect Japan and restore some national pride," Momoko Mihara, 31, said after voting for the Liberal Democrats in the western Tokyo suburb of Fuchu. "I hope Mr. Abe will stand tall."

The LDP may also have benefited from voter confusion over the dizzying array of more than 12 parties.

One of the new parties, the right-leaning, populist Japan Restoration Party, won between 40 to 61 seats, NHK projected. The party, led by the bombastic nationalist ex-Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto — both of whom are polarizing figures with forceful leadership styles — could become a future coalition partner for the LDP, analysts said.

Ishihara was the one who stirred up the latest dispute with China over the islands when he proposed that the Tokyo government buy them from their private Japanese owners and develop them.

In this first election since the March 11, 2011, earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters, atomic energy ended up not being a major election issue even though polls show about 80 per cent of Japanese want to phase out nuclear power.

'We're not like Germany'

In the end, economic concerns won out, said Kazuhisa Kawakami at Meiji Gakuin University.

'The economy has been in dire straits these past three years, and it must be the top priority.'—Shinzo Abe

"We need to prioritize the economy, especially since we are an island nation," he said. "We're not like Germany. We can't just get energy from other countries in a pinch."

The staunchly anti-nuclear Tomorrow Party — which was formed just three weeks ago —captured between six and 15 seats, NHK estimated.

Abe's Political History

During his previous tenure as prime minister, Abe pursued a nationalistic agenda pressing for more patriotic education and upgrading the defence agency to ministry status.

He also insisted there was no proof Japan's military had coerced Chinese, Korean and other women into prostitution in military brothels during Japan's wartime aggression in Asia. He later apologized but lately has suggested that a landmark 1993 apology for sex slavery needs revising.

Abe has said he regrets not visiting Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrines Japan's war dead, including Class-A war criminals, during his term as prime minister. China and South Korea oppose such visits, saying they reflect Japan's reluctance to fully atone for its wartime atrocities.

Tomorrow Party head Yukiko Kada said she was very disappointed to see LDP, the original promoter of the nuclear energy policy — and still the most pro-nuclear party — making a big comeback.

Abe, 58, is considered one of the more conservative figures in the increasingly conservative LDP.

It remains to be seen how he will behave this time around, though he is talking tough toward China, and the LDP platform calls developing fisheries and setting up a permanent outpost in the disputed islands, called Senkakus by Japan and Daioyu by China — a move that would infuriate Beijing.

The LDP wants to revise Japan's pacifist constitution to strengthen its Self-Defence Forces and, breaching a postwar taboo, designate them as a "military." It also proposes increasing Japan's defence budget.

It's not clear, however, how strongly the LDP will push such proposals.

"The economy has been in dire straits these past three years, and it must be the top priority," Abe said in a televised interview. "We must strengthen our alliance with the U.S. and also improve relations with China, with a strong determination that is no change in the fact the Senkaku islands are our territory." - CBCnews

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75th anniversary of Nanjing massacre

75th anniversary of Nanjing massacre

History of Nanjing Massacre





December the 13th marks the 75th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre. A series of official memorials have been held in the eastern China city to commemorate the estimated 300 thousand Chinese killed by Japanese troops during World War Two.

An unforgettable part of history for Chinese people.

Sirens wailed in the chilling morning... Nanjing was in grief as people from across the city, and the world, gathered here to mourn the estimated 300,000 lives taken by Japanese troops 75 years ago.

During World War Two, the Japanese army invaded almost half of China, causing tens of millions of casualties and devestating cities and towns. The then Chinese capital, Nanjing, suffered six weeks of murder and rape.

Every year, the siren rings here in front of the memorial museum, reminding the city of the nightmare in 1937.
On December 9th that year, after securing control of Shanghai, Japanese troops launched a massive attack upon Nanjing. Four days later, the city fell.

In the following six weeks, the Japanese forces engaged in an orgy of murder, rape, looting and arson that came to be known as the Nanjing Massacre.

Chinese and Western eyewitness accounts have documented the crimes. On December 19th, Reverend James McCallum wrote in his diary:

"I know not where to end. Never I have heard or read such brutality. Rape! Rape! Rape! We estimate at least one thousand cases a night, and many by day. In case of resistance or anything that seems like disapproval, there is a bayonet stab or a bullet. People are hysterical... The whole Japanese army seems to be free to go and come as it pleases, and to do whatever it pleases."

The International Military Tribunal of the Far East, also known as the Tokyo Trials, estimated more than 200-thousand people had died in the Nanjing Massacre. Most experts put that number at about 300-thousand.

Japanese newspaper covered one of the most notorious atrocities... a killing contest between two Japanese officers. Toshiaki Mukai and Tsuyoshi Noda competed to be the first to kill 100 people with a sword.

Although today the Japanese government has admitted to the killings, some Japanese nationalist groups deny these events ever took place.

There are misunderstandings of this history, we want to tell the world the right facts. He says.

Many Japanese prime ministers have visited the Yasukuni Shrine, a shrine for Japanese soldiers who died during World War 2. These include the criminals of the Nanjing Massacre. To this day, the tragedy of Nanjing continues to be a stumbling block in Japan’s relations with other Asian nations.

The memorial was held at a square in front of the memorial hall for the Chinese victims massacred by Japanese soldiers. The crowd mourned the dead and presented wreaths.

A citizen representative read the Nanjing Peace Declaration.

Citizen representative, Nanjing city, said,"Peace rather than war, development rather than poverty, cooperation rather than confrontation is the eternal theme of human civilization and progress."

The mourners included local school children, college students, survivors of the massacre and international friends.

The Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall is an important reminder of the past and a place to mourn the dead.

By recalling the past, the memorial also conveys Chinese people’s wishes for peace with all nations in the world.

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News for 75th anniversary of Nanjing massacre

1. The Nanjing Massacre: Scenes from a Hideous Slaughter 75 Years Ago

     13, 1937, Japanese troops captured the city of Nanjing, then the capital of ... Then and now, the Nanjing massacre remains one of the darkest ...
   

Japan ministers visit Tokyo war shrine amid anger from China, S Korea

Japan's transport minister Yuichiro Hata (centre) and other lawmakers visit the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Thursday. Photo: AFP



67 Japanese lawmakers, including two cabinet ministers, have visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

The two cabinet members were Japanese Transport Minister, Yuichiro Hata, and Postal Minister, Mikio Shimoji. Their visit came a day after opposition leader Shinzo Abe’s visit to the shrine. The Yasukuni Shrine honours 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including 14 leading World War Two war criminals.

The shrine is seen as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism by its Asian neighbours including China and South Korea, who have condemned the Japanese politicians’ visit. China’s Foreign Ministry called on Japan to face up to the international community.

Hong Lei, Spokesman of Chinese Foreign Ministry, said, "China’s position on this issue has been clear-cut and consistent: we urge the Japanese side to reflect upon history and strictly abide by its solemn statements and pledges regarding historical issues, and face the international community in a responsible manner."

Two Japanese ministers were part of a cross-party group of lawmakers who visited a controversial Tokyo war shrine on Thursday, the day after opposition leader Shinzo Abe angered China and South Korea by paying homage there.

Dozens of parliamentarians were at Yasukuni Shrine as part of celebrations for Japan’s autumn festival.

Among the lawmakers were transport minister Yuichiro Hata of the ruling Democratic Party (DPJ) and postal reform minister Mikio Shimoji of DPJ’s junior coalition partner, People’s New Party, local media said.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has stayed away from the shrine and previously told his cabinet to do the same.

Opposition leader Shinzo Abe, a man well-placed to become Japan’s next prime minister, was at the Shinto shrine Wednesday, prompting criticism from China and South Korea.

China’s state media there said Abe’s visit would “further poison bilateral ties”.

“At such a delicate moment, Abe’s visit... has added insult to injury and dealt another blow to the already fragile Sino-Japanese relations,” the Xinhua news agency said.

“Provocative and short-sighted actions would harm the interests of Japan and its people,” it said, noting that already the “strained political ties have produced serious economic fallout for both sides”.

A South Korean foreign ministry spokesman expressed “deep regret and concern” that such a senior political leader and former prime minister saw fit to visit “a symbol of the Japanese war of aggression and militarism”.

Japan has spent the last few months at loggerheads with China over a group of islands in the East China Sea, and it is engaged in a propaganda war with South Korea over a long-standing territorial dispute involving a set of isolated islands.

Japan’s colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945 is still a source of bitter resentment among older generations and Abe, who was elected president of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party last month, is already an unpopular figure here.

As prime minister in 2007, he enraged South Koreans by denying the Japanese military’s direct involvement in forcing women, many from the Korean peninsula, into sexual slavery during World War II.

The Shinto shrine in central Tokyo honours 2.5 million war dead, including 14 convicted Class A war criminals from World War II.

Visits to the shrine by government ministers and high-profile figures spark outrage in China and on the Korean peninsula, where many feel Japan has failed to atone for its brutal aggression in the first half of the 20th century.

Yasukuni Shrine

Yasukuni Shrine, located in Tokyo, Japan, is dedicted to over 2,466,000 Japanese soldiers and servicemen who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan in the last 150 years. It also houses one of the few Japanese war museums dedicated to World War II.The shrine is at the center of an international  controversy by honoring war criminals convicted by a post World War II court including 14 'Class A' war criminals. Japanese politicans, including prime ministers and cabinet members have paid visits to Yasukuni Shrine in recent years which caused criticism and protests from China, Korea, and Taiwan.

On August 15, the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in the second world war, two ministers – Hata and Jin Matsubara, the minister in charge of the issue of Japanese kidnapped by North Korea – visited Yasukuni.

By Agence France-Presse in Tokyo