TOKYO—Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stayed away from a Tokyo shrine that honors convicted war criminals among the war dead apparently not to spark controversy from neighboring countries as Japan marked the 71st anniversary of the end of World War II.
Abe on Monday sent a pair of religious ornaments to the Yasukuni Shrine, apparently as Tokyo tries to arrange a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 (G-20) summit in China next month.
At a state memorial ceremony later on Monday, Abe reiterated his pledge not to allow the tragedy of war be repeated, but he neither mentioned Japan’s wartime actions in Asia nor apologized to its victims.
In his last four speeches to mark the end-of-war anniversary, Abe has not acknowledged Japan’s war atrocities or expressed his regrets over them.
That contrasted with a statement from Emperor Akihito.
“As I reflect the past and bear in mind the feelings of deep remorse, I earnestly hope that the ravages of war will never be repeated,” Akihito, 82, said after observing a moment of silence with other participants. It was his first public appearance outside the palace since he indicated his abdication wish in a video message last week.
Abe visited the Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery for unidentified soldiers on his way to the memorial ceremony at the nearby Budokan hall.
As a sign of the lingering bitter feelings in Asia over Japan’s actions, a group of South Korean lawmakers picked the day to land on disputed small islands in the Sea of Japan to celebrate their country’s liberation from Japanese colonization. The islands are controlled by South Korea but also claimed by Tokyo. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga reiterated Japan’s claims to the islands and said the lawmakers’ actions were “unacceptable and extremely regrettable.” He said Tokyo had protested to Seoul.
Tensions between Japan and China have also risen this month as China increased its maritime activities in the disputed East China Sea. Abe’s last visit to the Yasukuni Shrine in December 2012 had drawn sharp rebukes from China and South Korea, which see Yasukuni as a symbol of Japan’s wartime militarism and consider lawmakers visits as whitewashing of Japan’s wartime aggression.
His special aide Yasutoshi Nishimura, and a ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker, told reporters that he offered a donation from Abe to the shrine along with the religious ornaments and prayed on his behalf.
Dozens of lawmakers paid their annual tribute to the war dead at the shrine.
Hidehisa Otsuji, head of a nonpartisan group of lawmakers who routinely visit Yasukuni, told reporters that Abe’s absence would be understood (by the war dead) “if it’s a judgment based on national interest.”
Separately, a group of ultra-conservative members chaired by Tomomi Inada, a recently appointed defense minister known for her hawkish remarks and historical views that downplay Japan’s wartime atrocities, also visited the shrine. Inada, who is a regular at Yasukuni during ceremonial occasions, is out of the country this year in Djibouti, an east African nation where Japanese troops are taking part in peacekeeping operations.
Image credits: AP/Shizuo Kambayashi, AP/Shuji Kajiyama