The all-time passionate nationalist, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has again chosen to enrage Asia and the international community to some extent by paying tribute to the war criminals at the Yasukuni Shrine. In 2012, Abe paid a politically inflammatory visit to the shrine as opposition leader. The difference this time is that he has forced the controversial visit despite the strong admonition of the U.S., Japan's closest ally, that he refrain.
The shrine is the symbol of Japanese militarism and refusal to atone. True, numerous nations maintain war memorials. However, the Japanese shrine remains different in that it is the burial site for Class-A criminals directly responsible for atrocities incurred during wartime. Honoring them publicly means following the spirit of the war criminals. Such a gesture by prime minister, the highest representative of the Japanese people, can never equal atonement; it only contradicts Abe's outspoken will to observe the spirit of the 1993 Kono statement, the public apology by the Japanese government for forcing women to serve as sex slaves.
Abe mistakenly considers honoring war criminals as a national tradition. However, when those criminals have inflicted everlasting damage on people of other nationalities, honoring them is no longer a matter of national honor; it is a matter subject to discussion and review by concerned parties. Genuine atonement starts with acknowledging that simple truth.
Choi Si-young
Adviser on Yonsei European Studies at Yonsei University, Seoul
The shrine is the symbol of Japanese militarism and refusal to atone. True, numerous nations maintain war memorials. However, the Japanese shrine remains different in that it is the burial site for Class-A criminals directly responsible for atrocities incurred during wartime. Honoring them publicly means following the spirit of the war criminals. Such a gesture by prime minister, the highest representative of the Japanese people, can never equal atonement; it only contradicts Abe's outspoken will to observe the spirit of the 1993 Kono statement, the public apology by the Japanese government for forcing women to serve as sex slaves.
Abe mistakenly considers honoring war criminals as a national tradition. However, when those criminals have inflicted everlasting damage on people of other nationalities, honoring them is no longer a matter of national honor; it is a matter subject to discussion and review by concerned parties. Genuine atonement starts with acknowledging that simple truth.
Choi Si-young
Adviser on Yonsei European Studies at Yonsei University, Seoul
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