TOKYO: Tens of thousands gathered under sweltering summer heat on Friday (Aug 15) to pay their respects at Tokyo’s contentious Yasukuni Shrine, as Emperor Naruhito expressed “deep remorse” on the 80th anniversary of Japan’s World War II surrender.
The shrine commemorates 2.5 million mostly Japanese soldiers who died since the late 19th century, but also enshrines convicted war criminals — a fact that has long stirred anger in countries such as China and South Korea, which endured Japanese wartime aggression. Two Cabinet ministers were among the visitors this year.
Speaking at a solemn ceremony in central Tokyo alongside Empress Masako, Naruhito conveyed “a deep and renewed sense of sorrow,” with the national flag at half-mast outside.
“My thoughts are with the countless people who lost their precious lives in the last war and with their bereaved families,” the 65-year-old monarch said. “Reflecting on our past and holding on to feelings of deep remorse, I sincerely hope that the devastation of war will never be repeated.”
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also pledged to preserve the painful lessons of history and to “pursue actions toward lasting peace.” He sent a customary offering to Yasukuni, continuing a tradition — though no Japanese premier has visited the shrine in person since 2013, when Shinzo Abe’s visit drew sharp criticism from Beijing, Seoul, and even Washington.
Public Reflection Amid the Heat
With temperatures exceeding 30°C, visitors sought shade under umbrellas in the shrine’s scenic grounds. Several people collapsed from heat exhaustion and required medical assistance.
Tokyo resident Takashi Eguchi, 53, said Yasukuni offers a central place for ordinary citizens to reflect on Japan’s past. “Wars are breaking out or threatening to erupt in many places,” he said. “I came to look back on what Japan has done — including its mistakes.”
Another visitor, Harada, 39, from Nagano, dressed in a Japanese imperial army uniform, said he wanted to honour the sacrifices of war dead. “When the veterans are gone, someone must continue their legacy. You have to see both the good and the bad in wars.”
Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited in the early morning, as he does every August 15, followed later by Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato. Also in attendance were ruling party nationalist leader Sanae Takaichi and members of the “Japanese First” Sanseito party, which recently made electoral gains with its anti-globalist platform.
Next month, Naruhito, Masako, and their daughter Princess Aiko will travel to Nagasaki to meet atomic bomb survivors and honour the war dead — the emperor’s first visit there since ascending the throne in 2019.
Source: AFP
