Japan marked the 81st anniversary of its World War II surrender, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi declining to visit Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, a move apparently intended to reduce diplomatic tensions with China and South Korea. Other government officials, including Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and three Cabinet ministers, made visits to the shrine, and dozens of lawmakers from a nonpartisan group also offered prayers there.
Takaichi delivered remarks at a separate ceremony at Nippon Budokan, where she mourned victims of major wartime devastation and those who died in overseas conflicts, characterizing their sacrifice as foundational to Japan’s contemporary peace and prosperity. She stated that Japan had consistently pursued global peace and prosperity since the war’s end and pledged that the tragedy of war would not be repeated. However, her address did not address Japan’s wartime actions in Asia or express remorse for them.
The Yasukuni Shrine has remained a source of diplomatic friction since it enshrined 14 convicted World War II Japanese war criminals in 1978, alongside over 2.4 million war dead. Chinese and South Korean officials contend that official visits to the shrine represent insufficient acknowledgment of Japan’s historical responsibility. China’s Foreign Ministry protested the visits, asserting that Japanese politicians aimed to alter the historical record regarding war criminals and Japan’s wartime conduct. South Korea’s government similarly criticized the visits as disregarding history, though South Korean President Lee Jae Myung signaled openness to pragmatic bilateral cooperation.
Emperor Naruhito addressed the ceremony, expressing hope that war’s devastation would not recur while reflecting on the past and acknowledging feelings of deep remorse. He emphasized the importance of transmitting memories of wartime suffering to younger generations. Japanese emperors have avoided Yasukuni since the inclusion of war criminals, though they have expressed regrets about the wartime period in measured terms. The shrine also attracted family members of the deceased, including descendants of war dead who gathered to honor their ancestors.
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