Japan's Yasukuni Shrine: Place of Peace Or Place of Conflict? Regional Politics of History and Memory in East AsiaJapanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo five times over five years while Prime Minister. As a result, Japan's relations with China and Korea have declined to their worst state since the end of World War Two. However, Prime Minister Koizumi has accused the two of meddling in Japan's internal affairs - he does not see this as an international issue. For China, Korea, and others the fact that the shrine also includes 14 Class A War Criminals makes the Prime Minister's visits to the Shrine, official or not, an issue of international concern. Why is there such a rift not only between Japan and its neighbors but also between the way Koizumi sees his visits and the way in which China, Korea, and other countries perceive these visits? What do the visits mean? This thesis has three arguments. First, this thesis argues that the Yasukuni Shrine is caught in a paradox of its legacy - a religious shrine and a state memorial to the war dead left untouched from before the war, in a country that since the end of World War Two has had a separation of Church and State. Second, this thesis argues that the domestic politics vis-à-vis Yasukuni are defined by this paradox, with an ill-fitting policy of separation of church and state without resolution of the need to recognize the war dead. Third, this thesis argues that by visiting the Shrine, along with various policies of the Government of Japan that have endorsed and supported the shrine since Japan signed the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, Koizumi demonstrates to Japan's neighbors that it is hollowing out Japan's post war reconciliation. While Japan has officially apologized for its actions in World War Two, for Japan's neighbors, visiting the shrine is a visible sign that Japan does not wish to act very sorry. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
B Purpose and Outline | 11 |
Foundations of Yasukuni Shrine | 19 |
a Japanese View of the Shrine | 43 |
B Challenging the Constitutional | 50 |
International Face of the Conflict | 61 |
Appendix A Interview Subjects | 95 |
Prime Minister Visits to Yasukuni 19512005 | 101 |
Appendix E Japanese Apologies to China and Korea | 107 |
Common terms and phrases
Affairs of Japan apology April 22 Asia Asian August 15 Breen Buddhism Chinese City Constitution countries criminals dead deep remorse Died in prison Embassy emperor Enshrined at Yasukuni Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Fujitani Gokoku Hardacre Hashimoto Hosokawa Morihiro Imperial imprisonment interviewed on March Japan Focus Japan Homepage Japanese Nationalism Jinja Junichiro Koizumi Kami Kasulis Koizumi Junichiro Korea Kyoto Meiji Memorial Service military Minister of Japan Ministry of Foreign Murayama Murayama Tomiichi museum Nakasone Nation Protecting Shrine neighbors Nihon Izokukai Obuchi Keizo October 18 official Ohnuki-Tierney Online Pacific paradox Paroled in 1955 People's Republic Place of Conflict place of peace political Prefecture Prime Minister Prime Minister Visits religious Republic of China Safier Shinto Shrine Shintoism Shogun shrine visits Shrine while Prime spirits Tamamoto Teeuwen thesis Tokyo Tomiichi Tomiichi Murayama Vice-Chief Priest visit Shrine visit the shrine visiting the Yasukuni Wakamiya Yasukuni Problem Yasukuni Shrine Yomiuri Shimbun Yoshida Yushukan