Controversies surrounding Yasukuni Shrine
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Many controversies surrounding Yasukuni Shrine have arisen since the Shinto shrine's founding in 1869. One of the first major controversies involved the enshrinement of war criminals at the shrine. Of the 2,466,532 people contained in the shrine's Book of Souls, 1,068 were convicted of war crimes by a post World War II court. Of those, 14 are convicted Class A war criminals ("crime against peace").[1] Furthermore, the Yūshūkan - the shrine's history museum - contains some revisionist accounts of Japan's actions in World War II.
A more recent source of controversy, visits to the shrine by cabinet members and various Prime Ministers in particular have been a cause of protest Japan and abroad. China, North Korea, South Korea and Taiwan have protested against various visits since 1985. Despite the controversy, the former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made annual visits from 2001 to 2006.
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[edit] War Criminals
The shrine enshrines and, according to Shinto beliefs, provides a permanent residence for the spirits of those who have fought on behalf of the emperor, regardless of whether they died in combat. About 1,000 of the enshrined kami were POWs convicted of some level of war crime after World War II.
One of the criteria for enshrinement at Yasukuni is that a person be listed as having died while on duty (including death from illness or disease) in the war dead registry of the Japanese government. According to documents released on 28 March 2007 by the National Diet Library of Japan, Health and Welfare Ministry officials and Yasukuni representatives agreed during a meeting, on 31 January 1969, that Class-A war criminals judged at the Tokyo Trial were "able to be honored" and decided not to make public the idea that Yasukuni would enshrine those criminals.[2]
On October 17, 1978, 14 Class A war criminals (convicted by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East), including Hideki Tojo, were quietly enshrined as "Martyrs of Shōwa" (昭和殉難者 Shōwa junnansha), ostensibly on the technicality that they were on the war dead registry. They are listed below, according to their sentences:
- Death by hanging:
- Lifetime imprisonment:
- 20-year imprisonment:
- Died before a judicial decision was reached (due to illness or disease):
The enshrinement was revealed to the media on April 19, 1979, and a controversy started in 1985 which continues to this day. For China, North and South Korea, and other nations that suffered from Japanese invasion and imperial rule, as well as westerners who suffered as POWS, internees, and in some cases were systematically raped as so-called "comfort women" though these were more typically Asian, the shrine is a symbol of Japanese fascism and extreme aggression. Liberal, socialist and communist groups in Japan also take issue with the shrine for similar reasons.
[edit] Yūshūkan and shrine positions
Yasukuni Shrine also operates a museum of the history of Japan (the Yūshūkan), which some observers have criticized as presenting a revisionist interpretation. A documentary-style video shown to museum visitors portrays Japan's conquest of East Asia during the pre-World War II period as an effort to save the region from the imperial advances of Western powers. Displays portray Japan as a victim of foreign influence, especially Western pressure.[citation needed] The museum fails to portray atrocities committed by the Japanese Imperial Army. On the invasion of Nanking, the museum omits any mention of the massacre and proclaim that "General Iwane Matsui issued orders to observe military rules to the letter. The Japanese established a safety zone for Chinese civilians and made a special effort to protect historical and cultural sites. Inside the city, residents were once again able to live their lives in peace." [3]
A pamphlet published by the shrine says: "War is a really tragic thing to happen, but it was necessary in order for us to protect the independence of Japan and to prosper together with our Asian neighbors." It also says that Japanese POWs executed for war crimes were "cruelly and unjustly tried" by a "sham-like tribunal of the Allied forces."[1] [4]
The shrine's English-language website defends Japanese activities prior to and during World War II, by stating: "War is truly sorrowful. Yet to maintain the independence and peace of the nation and for the prosperity of all of Asia, Japan was forced into conflict." [2]
The political overtones of Yasukuni Shrine are attributed to two major factors. One is the ideology of State Shinto which regarded any wars waged in the name of the emperor as just and anyone who died fighting for the emperor as an eirei (英霊 hero spirit). But another more immediate factor is the influence of various support organizations, especially the Izokukai (遺族会), the largest organization representing the families of war dead from World War II. Though Yasukuni has become something of a mecca for various right-wing and ultra right-wing organizations, their influence on the Yasukuni priesthood is said to be marginal at best.
Yasukuni Shrine considers the Izokukai as the de facto lay organization for the Shrine. The Izokukai was formerly known as the Izoku Kōsei Renmei (遺族厚生連盟 War-Dead-Family Welfare Union), established in 1947. The original purpose of the Izoku Kōsei Renmei was stated as follows: "With a view to pursuing the end of warfare, establishing global peace and world prosperity and contributing to the welfare of the humanity, we seek to provide relief and assistance to the families of those who died in the (Asia Pacific) war ". As can be seen, the main purpose of the organization was to provide assistance to the widows, orphans and aging parents of those who died in the Asia Pacific War as well as lobbying the government in the interests of the family. However, in 1953 the organization became a trust foundation and changed its name to the current Izokukai. More importantly, the main purpose of the organization was changed to, "In pursuit of the establishiment of a peaceful Japan, the cultivation of character, and the promotion of morality, we seek to praise eirei, to promote the welfare of the families of the war dead, and to seek recognition and compensation for civilian auxiliary units." The change, which included the elimination of international pacifism and insertion of a reference to eirei is regarded as giving a nationalist slant to the character of the organization. Chairmen of the organization have usually been members of the governing Liberal Democratic party and the organization is regarded as the informal pipeline between the LDP (hence the government) and the Yasukuni Shrine. In 1962 Okinori Kaya, a known LDP hawk and a convicted class A criminal in the Tokyo Trials was appointed chairman. The organization is regarded as having strong influence over the political overtones of the Yasukuni Shrine.
[edit] Political impact
The controversial nature of the shrine has figured largely in both domestic Japanese politics and relations with other Asian countries. The controversy has been reignited nearly every year since 1975, when prime minister Miki Takeo visited the shrine as a private individual on August 15, the day that Japan commemorates the end of World War II. The next year, his successor Fukuda Takeo visited as a private individual yet signed the visitors' book as prime minister. Several other Japanese prime ministers have visited the shrine since 1979: Masayoshi Ohira in 1979; Zenko Suzuki in 1980, 1981 and 1982; Yasuhiro Nakasone in 1983 and 1985 (on the latter occasion, he offered flowers which had been paid for with government money); Kiichi Miyazawa in 1992, this visit was kept secret until 1996 (he had paid a visit in 1980 before becoming Prime Minister); Ryutaro Hashimoto in 1996; and Junichiro Koizumi, who visited six times (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006). Visits by Japanese prime ministers to the shrine have resulted in official condemnation by neighboring countries since 1985, as they see it as an attempt to legitimize Japan's past militarism.
Visits to the shrine are also controversial in the domestic debate over the proper role of religion in Japanese government. Some Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) politicians insist that visits are protected by the constitutional right to freedom of religion and that it is appropriate for legislators to pay their respects to those fallen in war. However, proposals for the construction of a secular memorial so that those wishing to honor Japan's military dead do not have to visit Yasukuni have thus far failed, ostensibly for technical details rather than the rejection of a secular memorial. The Japanese government conducts yearly memorial services to commemorate the War in Budokan (a secular building) which is near Yasukuni shrine so that the attendees can later visit Yasukuni Shrine privately if they so wish. The shrine itself objects to any proposal that a non-religious memorial be built, stating that "Yasukuni Shrine must be the one and only memorial for Japan's military dead." Koizumi has claimed that his visits are to ensure that there will be no further wars involving Japan, causing some to interpret them as an act of remembrance rather than reverence.[citation needed]
On his first visit to Japan since leaving office in February 2003, former South Korean President Kim Dae Jung openly criticized Japanese politicians' visits to the shrine, and proposed that the 14 Class A war criminals be moved to a different location. He said, "If that option is realized, I will not express opposition to visits to Yasukuni Shrine (by Koizumi or other Japanese leaders)". Kim noted that Koizumi promised at a meeting in Shanghai in 2001 to consider building a new memorial facility that could replace Yasukuni Shrine and enable anyone to worship there without hesitation.
The government of the People's Republic of China has been the most vocal critic of the shrine and some Japanese observers have suggested that the issue of Yasukuni Shrine is just as heavily tied to China's internal politics as it is to the historical conduct of Japan's military and the perceived degree of its remorse for its actions. They state that tolerance on the part of Communist Party of China authorities for large-scale public protests in mainland China against the shrine contrasts strongly with the authority exercised against any kind of domestic political dissent. This has been interpreted as an effort by the party to channel public frustrations away from their rule, and preserve their legitimacy by aligning themselves with popular nationalist sentiments. Many have commented on the cultural difference between Chinese and Japanese cultures. Shinto views one's crimes absolved after enshrinement.[citation needed]
[edit] Debate in Japan
Political visits to the shrine and the views expressed by foreign nations has met with various degrees of controversy domestically, with the population of Japan itself having different views.
Every kami in Yasukuni is termed an eirei, which some suggest glorifies not only the dead but the various conflicts themselves. The Yasukuni's explanation of the enshrinment of Class A war criminals is technical. They cite the fact that their names are all listed in official Ministry of Health list of war casualties which was compiled for the purpose of pension for family of war dead. However, the Yasukuni specifically excluded class A criminals from the enshrinement when the list was initially compiled. This decision was later reversed. It is often understood that the main reason for the enshrinement is Yasukuni and the right's political stance that Tokyo War Crime Tribunal is illegitimate and illegal under the international law, and therefore, there is no reason for those who are convicted to be excluded from enshrinement.
One commonly voiced argument is that visits to the shrine by the Prime Minister or Emperor are an internal political matter in which China and Korea have no right to interfere. Another line of argument points out the controversy is perhaps in part due to a misunderstanding of the religion. Shinto does not contain the concept of karma or heaven and hell seen in other religions. Though certain kami who die with unavenged grievances could become vengeful kami and require enshrinement to placate them, the process of enshrinement is noted for purging the spirits of all evil or wrongdoing. Some suggest, though, that since Yasukuni was once part of a state-run religion, it is a symbol of government policy and that a religious argument should not apply. Nor does it explain why morality requires a religious foundation. The actions of the war dead could be wrong, even if their religious beliefs suggest they were right. Some critics point out that Yasukuni Shrine does not merely house kami, but since it also has a nearby museum, it could be interpreted as praising their actions while alive. Souvenirs like items used during wartime, including wartime flags, can also be purchased at the museum gift shop immediately adjacent to the shrine.
Another controversy is the constitutionality of visits by the Prime Minister. In the Japanese Constitution, the separation of state and religion is explicit. Because the clause was written for the express purpose of preventing the return of State Shintoism, many question the constitutionality of the Prime Minister visiting Yasukuni Shrine. Often the first question Japanese Prime Ministers are asked by journalists after a visit is, "Are you here as a private person or as Prime Minister?" In addition, whether the Prime Minister has signed the visitors' book indicating the position of signatory as shijin (私人 private person) or shushō (首相 Prime Minister) is diligently reported. All Prime Ministers have so far stated that their visit was private. However, although some leave the signature section blank or sign it as shijin, others sign it as shushō. The issue is somewhat different than that of visits by the German Chancellor to the Holocaust Memorial, which are explicitly made in the context of a state visit. Prime Minister Koizumi recently gave a somewhat cryptic answer, stating that he visited the shrine as Junichiro Koizumi, the Prime Minister of Japan. Some consider such statement as a move towards making visits somewhat official; others consider that it is pointing out that the whole issue of shijin vs shushō is somewhat meaningless. Some journals and news reports, such as one made by Kyodo News Agency on August 15, 2006, question whether in the case of Koizumi's visits, which are consistently claimed by Koizumi to be private, can be considered individual in nature when they are part of a campaign pledge, which in nature is political. Currently, most of the Japanese public and most jurists have agreed that there have as of yet been no constitutional violations.
The views expressed by Yasukuni Shrine through its museum and website are also controversial. Both sites make it clear that Yasukuni Shrine does not regard the conduct of Japan during the World War II as an act of aggression but rather matter of self-defence and a heroic effort to repel European Imperialism. Defenders of (private) visits by the Prime Minister point out that, regardless, there is no other venue to pay respect to the fallen in Japan, so that Prime Minister as well as the large number of Japanese who visit the shrine have no choice. Moreover, most people (including the Prime Minister) who visit Yasukuni deliberately avoid entering the museum so that the visit remains religious rather than political.
A number of proposals have been made to alleviate controversy. One is to somehow "remove" the controversial spirits and place them in a different location so that visits to Yasukuni Shrine would not be as politically charged. This proposal has been strongly pushed by China and Korea. The Japanese government cannot force Yasukuni Shrine to do so (due to the separation of church and state). Moreover, the shrine is adamant that once a kami has been housed at the shrine, it cannot be separated. The one method which is suggested as theologically valid is to abolish the entire enshrinement, then repeat the entire enshrinement rite of kami since the Boshin War without including the A class war criminals. Some argue that selective abolishment of enshrinement is technically possible, as there are several precedents of selective de-enshrinement in the Tokugawa era.
Another proposal is to create a separate secular memorial where the prime minister can make official state visits for memorial purposes. Critics point out that groups representing families of the war dead express no interest in such a memorial, preferring Yasukuni Shrine. Furthermore, the Japanese government already conducts yearly secular commemoration services at the Budokan for the families of soldiers killed in World War II. Afterwards, these families usually make private visits to Yasukuni Shrine, which is located within walking distance. Since the proposed memorial site is geographically distant, were the ceremony to be relocated to the proposed memorial site such visits would be made more difficult. A number of families of the names listed at the shrine have indicated that the controversy is disturbing the peaceful rest of their dead family members and that they wish to pay homage to them without controversy and media attention.
There is in fact a memorial to the Japanese war dead within walking distance of Yasukuni, called Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery (千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑). This could be used as an alternative by Japanese politicians to pay their respects to those who died during the war.
Some argue that no spirit should be separated because it would amount to condemnation, running counter to the theology of Shintoism which purges the spirits of evil/sin at time of housing.
[edit] Textbook controversy
In May 2005, in the aftermath of anti-Japanese protests over the Japanese history textbooks controversy, Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Yi cut short her visit to Japan and flew home before a planned meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. This was widely interpreted as a reaction to a statement by Koizumi the day before Wu's arrival that foreign countries should not interfere in Japan's domestic affairs, including the Yasukuni issue. Wu's visit was meant to improve strained relations between the two countries following the textbook controversy, and she had planned to ask Koizumi to stop his visits to the shrine.
[edit] Removal of the names
In June 2005, a senior LDP member proposed moving the 14 Class A war criminals to a separate site. Shinto priests refused this proposal, quoting Japan's freedom of religion laws under the Japanese Constitution.
Also in the same month, a group claiming to represent Taiwanese aborigines led by politician Kao-Chin Su-mei attempted to visit Yasukuni Shrine with the sponsorship of the Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace. Their intention was to peacefully request the removal of their relatives from the shrine, and to pray for the return of their ancestors' souls. Request to perform religious rites within the Yasukuni property were refused and they were blocked from entering Yasukuni by Japanese protesters and police. A demonstration was organized by a group of more than one hundred Japanese nationalists to block them from the shrine and prevent them from performing spirit-calling religious rituals within the property the Shrine objected. Japanese police allowed the protesters to remain on the grounds because their entrance to the shrine was not objected by the shrine however they blocked the Taiwanese from leaving their buses, citing measures to prevent clashes between the two groups. After about an hour and a half, the Taiwanese group gave up their attempt. Su-mei and her group reportedly received death threats related to their visit, prompting the Taiwanese government to request Japanese authorities ensure her safety while in Japan. [3]
[edit] Prime minister's visits
On June 27, 2005, the governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, told Kyodo News, "If the prime minister does not pay a visit to Yasukuni Shrine this year, I think Japan would go rotten from the inside and collapse."
On October 12, 2005, Yasukuni Shrine returned the Bukgwan Victory Monument to South Korean authorities. The monument was erected in 1707 to commemorate Korean victory over Japanese forces in the Seven-Year War. It was subsequently moved to the shrine by Japan following the Russo-Japanese War of 1905 over Korea. South Korea returned it to North Korea in early 2006.
On October 17, 2005, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the shrine for the fifth time since taking office. Although Koizumi claimed that his visit was a private affair, officials in the People's Republic of China responded by canceling a scheduled visit to China by Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura in protest. [4]
On 15 November 2005, during the APEC summit in Busan, South Korea, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing rhetorically asked: "What would European people think if German leaders were to visit (memorials) related to Hitler and Nazis?" [5]
On May 16, 2006, Henry Hyde, the Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on International Relations sent a letter to Koizumi expressing his "concerns about the efficacy of an invitation to the Japanese prime minister who continues to make controversial visits to the Yasukuni shrine." [6]. Hyde's letter underscored the offensive nature a shrine visit was to Americans who remember World War Two and Hyde didn't want to "dishonor the site in Congress where President Franklin D. Roosevelt made his 'day of infamy' speech after the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor." [7].
On August 4, 2006, Japanese media reported that Junichiro Koizumi's expected successor, Shinzo Abe, had visited the shrine in April. Chinese and South Korean governments expressed concern over Abe's visit to Yasukuni.[8] However, Abe has remained vague as to whether he had visited or would visit the shrine and subsequent events have led some to suggest that a compromise on the issue has been formed with China. [9]
On August 15, 2006, retiring Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the shrine to commemorate the anniversary of Japan's official World War II surrender [10].
In April 2007, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a cermemonial offering to the shrine, but did not actually visit himself. According to official reports the offering was made by Abe as a private citizen rather than in an official capacity, although it was reported that the card attached to the floral offering was signed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe [11]. Although Abe publicly supported his predecessor's visits to the shrine he did not visit the shrine himself during his term in office [12].
In June 2007, former Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui visited the shrine to pay his respects to his elder brother Lee Teng-ching (李登欽, or Lí Teng-khim in Taiwanese POJ), also known as Iwasato Takenori (岩里武則?) in Japanese, who is among the 27,863 Taiwanese honored there. [5]
In August 2007, the 16 members of the Cabinet all declared they had no intention of visiting the shrine during the Japan Surrender Day. Abe, who at this point had not disclosed whether he himself intended to go, commented "Paying homage at the Yasukuni temple, or not, is up to the individual, even for a Cabinet member. I expect people to use their own discretion."¨[6]
On August 15, 2007, Sanae Takaichi, minister in charge of gender equality and Okinawa-related issues, visited the shrine in an apparent effort to avoid a rare absence of all Cabinet members at Yasukuni on the anniversary of Japan's official WWII surrender.[7]
Current Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda vowed never to visit the shrine, a commitment applauded by Japan's Asian neighbors [13]. Fukuda's open political opposition to the shrine has led to improved relations with China, North and South Korea [14]. However, a group of 62 Diet members from the Liberal Democratic Party and the People's New Party, including former farm minister Shimamura and Eriko Yamatani, a special adviser to prime minister Fukuda, visited the shrine on 22 April 2008. [8]
[edit] Emperor's Shōwa's visits
Emperor Hirohito did not visit Yasukuni from 1978 until his death. His son, Emperor Akihito, has not visited the shrine since becoming emperor, instead choosing to send a lesser member of the royal household. On 20 July 2006, Nihon Keizai Shimbun front-paged an article about the discovery of a memorandum detailing the reason Emperor Hirohito stopped visiting Yasukuni. The memorandum, kept by former chief of Imperial Household Agency Tomohiko Tomita, confirms for the first time the enshrinement of Class A War Criminals such as Yosuke Matsuoka and Toshio Shiratori was the reason. Tomita wrote down the contents of his conversations with the emperor in his diaries and notebooks in detail. He left 12 diaries (1975-1986) and some 20 notebooks (1986-1997).
According to the memorandum, the emperor expressed his strong displeasure in 1988 at the decision made by Yasukuni Shrine to include Class A war criminals in the list of war dead honored there by saying, "At some point, Class-A criminals became enshrined, including Matsuoka and Shiratori. I heard Tsukuba acted cautiously," Tsukuba is believed to refer to Fujimaro Tsukuba, the former chief Yasukuni priest at the time, who decided not to enshrine the war criminals despite receiving in 1966, the list of war dead compiled by the government containing their names. "What's on the mind of Matsudaira's son, who is the current head priest?". "Matsudaira had a strong wish for peace, but the child didn't know the parent's heart. That's why I have not visited the shrine since. This is my heart," Matsudaira is believed to refer to Yoshitami Matsudaira, who was the grand steward of Imperial Household immediately after the end of World War II. His son, Nagayoshi, succeeded Fujimaro Tukuba as the chief priest of Yasukuni and he decided to enshrine the war criminals in 1978. [15] Nagayoshi Matsudaira passed away a year ago, which is speculated as a reason for the release of the memo.
For journalist Masanori Yamaguchi, who analyzed the "memo" and comments made by the emperor in his first-ever press conference in 1975, his evasive and opaque attitude about his own responsibility for the war and the fact he said that the bombing of Hiroshima "could not be helped" [9] , could mean that he was afraid that the enshrinement would reignite the debate over his own responsibility for the war.[10]
Another commentator stated that there are three immediate impacts of the memo. [16] Firstly, the explanation of the suspension of the imperial visit offered by the right is no longer sustainable. Those on the right of Japanese politics had attributed the reason for the emperor's suspension of visits to the emergence of controversy over constitutional validity of the visit by the prime minister or the emperor in regard to the separation of state and religion. This claim is no longer valid in the light of the revelation. Secondly, Yasukuni and its lay organisation, Izokukai probably have to make alterations to their stance somewhat. Both organisations have clearly expressed their wish for a visit by the current emperor. Recent rulings by the Supreme Court have also indicated that visits by the prime minister or the emperor are constitutional. However, it is now clear that the controversy over the enshrinement of class A war criminals has to be resolved. Moreover, though the emperor is the highest authority of Shinto, he does not exercise direct control of any Shinto shrine including Yasukuni. However, Yasukuni ideology is clearly in favour of the pre-war arrangement in which the emperor was the official head of Shinto. Thirdly, the revelation clearly shifts the focus of the controversy to the enshrinement of class A war criminals, meaning that the issue of the separation between the state and the church is no longer the main focus. The public opinion is split between those on the left who advocate the removal and those on the right who nonetheless object to the removal.
[edit] New memorial
On October 28, 2005, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) agreed to set up a cross-party "group for pushing forward the establishment of a national memorial facility" to bring about the foundation of a secular war memorial dedicated only to "ordinary" soldiers. This would replace Yasukuni Shrine as the home of Japan's war dead. The group was set to meet for the first time on November 9, 2005.
[edit] Yasukuni documentary controversy
see : Yasukuni (2007 film)
In March 2008, a group of lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party, featuring Tomomi Inada, called for boycott of a documentary made on Yasukuni by Chinese born director Ying Li about the links between the shrine and right-wing movements such as the Uyoku dantai. Those lawmakers had asked for a preview on the ground that the movie could be "anti-Japanese".[11] The Directors Guild of Japan expressed apprehension about the possible infringement of freedom of expression and as a result of the politician's protests, only about 10 theaters will screen the movie while none in Tokyo. [12]
[edit] References
- ^ Yasukuni Shrine. japan-guide.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
- ^ The Japan Times (2007-03-29) Yasukuni, state in '69 OK'd war criminal inclusion (2007-06-01)
- ^ Black museum of Japan's war crimes, Sunday Times, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article549954.ece
- ^ This position is based on the WWII-era argument from the Japanese government that the country had never signed the Geneva Convention, and was not a signatory of any enforceable international war crimes agreement. Therefore, following this opinion, the convictions were labels placed upon them by an organization to which they did not belong. Empire of Japan however violated international agreements signed by Japan, including provisions of the Treaty of Versailles such as a ban on the use of chemical weapons, and the Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907), which protect prisoners of war (POWs). The Japanese government also signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact (1929), thereby rendering its actions in 1937-45 liable to charges of crimes against peace, a charge that was introduced at the Tokyo Trials.
- ^ Taiwan ex-leader in shrine visit, BBC News (2007-06-07)
- ^ Abe on Yasukuni: 'To pay homage or not is up to the individual Japan News Review
- ^ State minister Takaichi visits Yasukuni Shrine
- ^ Lawmakers visit Yasukuni festival, http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080423a5.html
- ^ "-Does your majesty feel responsibility for the war itself, including the opening of hostilities ? -I can't answer that kind of question because I haven't thoroughly studied the literature in this field, and so I don't really appreciate the nuances of your words." H. Bix, Hirohito and the making of modern Japan, 200, p.676
- ^ Yasukuni and a week that will live in infamy, http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fd20060820pb.html
- ^ Dancing with the Devil over Yasukuni, http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20080408zg.html
- ^ More than 10 cinemas will screen Yasukuni, http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080405a1.html, No Tokyo theater will show Yasukuni film, http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080401f1.html
