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catman
Joined: 18 Jul 2004
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 Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 4:26 am Post subject: Koizumi visits Yasukuni war shrine again |
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Sigh......
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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi prayed at the Yasukuni war shrine Tuesday to mark Tokyo's surrender ending the Second World War, defying strident protests in China and South Korea but cheering his conservative followers.
It was Koizumi's sixth visit to the shrine since taking office in 2001, but his first on the highly symbolic Aug. 15 anniversary of Japan's 1945 defeat. He is the first prime minister to make such a visit since Yasuhiro Nakasone in 1985.
His Japanese supporters say the visits are an internal affair, though the shrine played a high-profile role in promoting wartime nationalism, and even today hosts a museum that seeks to justify Japan's invasions of its neighbours.
Opponents who consider the shrine a glorification of Japan's past militarism have been mounting protests in recent days to urge Koizumi to stay away and call on Tokyo to more fully atone for its pre-1945 aggression.
Some have filed lawsuits in a bid to halt the visits, saying they violate the constitutional division of religion and state. One such suit was recently rejected by the Supreme Court.
The Koizumi visits have triggered fierce protests in China and South Korea, two countries that suffered deeply under Japanese militarism.
"The government has to make the strongest diplomatic reaction if the prime minister goes ahead with paying homage to the Yasukuni Shrine," Kim Han-gill, floor leader of South Korea's ruling Uri Party, said Monday, according to his party.
In a rare show of bipartisan unity, the country's main opposition Grand National Party also urged Koizumi not to visit the shrine, calling the trip "a second invasion."
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Alias
Joined: 24 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 3:48 am Post subject: |
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| He will be stepping down next month so it really doesn't matter much. The question is will his successor also visit the shrine? |
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mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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| Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:39 am Post subject: |
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| Alias wrote: |
| He will be stepping down next month so it really doesn't matter much. The question is will his successor also visit the shrine? |
It matters because as his last visit he could have chosen not to go without fear of repercussion since he's done anyway, and that would have given his successor extra support if he wanted to continue to not visit it. Now that Koizumi's visited it one last time, his successor would be breaking with the tradition Koizumi's been following if he decides not to visit it himself. So there's more pressure for the next person to visit the shrine too because of this last visit. |
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igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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| Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:43 am Post subject: |
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It was Korea's National Independence Day yesterday too wasn't it?
While clearly a slap in the face, keep in mind the number of Japan's war dead who were in fact themselves ... Korean  |
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