July 24th, 2009

Thanks a bunch for some of your comments, you guys pointed me to some good info. Not only is Yasukuni in the middle of an international maelstrom, it’s also seems to be the center of japanese politics. When former PM Koizumi-san went to pay his respects, he was criticized by the international community. His response was its no one elses business how Japan behaves, and he is free to pay his respects as he pleases. Although I agree with the thought, it seems fairly obvious to me that doing what he did would garner lots of heat. From what I’ve been able to read online, it seems the political right is throwing their weight behind the shrine as well. While Yasukuni should be a place to worship those who lost their lives, a number of things have given the shrine new life. For one, as I mentioned in the last blog, it houses Class A War criminals. This fact alone should prohibit any elected official from embarking on any official visits. In addition, it also houses around 50 000 colonial subjects who died as japanese soldiers. This has caused additional friction among Japan and its former colonies(specifically Taiwan and Korea). Among japanese people, Okinawans in particular, the shrine also reopens old wounds. Thousands of Okinawans died(apparently they were given grenades by the japanese army and told to blow themselves up) when the American’s landed, and are today enshrined at Yasukuni, which is strange since Yasukuni is only supposed to be for fallen soldiers. 

While this is appalling by itself(the Japanese government still hasn’t admitted to this happening), there is actually a deeper problem. While I believe its important to remember those who died at war, an essay I read by Takahashi Tetsuya. While he mentions many of the things I’ve written about, I believe his key point is how many japanese people are now positioning the shrine. It has become more of a symbol of Japans warring past, and in particular of the emperor system of the early 1900s. This is significant since it touches on 3 important points of Japan’s current post-war constitution, clause 1(emperor system abolished), clause 9(peace clause) and clause 20(separation of church and state). The author fears that the shrine is going to be used as a catalyst for renewed nationalism in Japan...personally, I can’t understand some of the decisions that have taken place. Denying the Okinawan’s claims, refusing to remove family members of Taiwanese and Korean decent...thinking about the possibility of a new wave of nationalism sweeping through Japan...I just don’t see it. I feel like I’m missing something about Japan’s emperor system...