By Zhong Sheng
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on April 21, in her capacity as Prime Minister, sent a ritual offering known as masakaki to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, where Class-A war criminals from WWII are enshrined.
In the special year marking the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the work of the International Military Tribunal for Far East, commonly known as the Tokyo Trials, Takaichi's act, in blatant defiance of international opinion, constitutes a willful trampling on human conscience, a public insult to historical justice, and a provocative challenge to the outcomes of the victory of WWII. The forces of justice around the world should remain highly vigilant against such regressive actions and draw a clear-eyed judgment on Japan's strategic trajectory.
This move once again exposes the extreme and dangerous right-wing historical view held by certain Japanese politicians. Over the years, visits to Yasukuni Shrine have become an important symbol for right-wing forces in Japan seeking to revive militarist ideology.
As early as 2007, Takaichi visited Yasukuni Shrine in her capacity as a cabinet member, and since 2014, she has made more than ten such visits, clearly revealing the depth of her fixation on venerating war criminals. The essence of such veneration is a tacit endorsement of the so-called "Yasukuni historical view" promoted by the shrine's core facility, the Yushukan Museum.
This narrative deliberately fabricates distortions to obscure Japan's history of aggression, attributing the outbreak of war to alleged "provocation" and "pressure" from the US, the UK, and even China, while portraying Japan's wars of aggression as efforts to "liberate Asia" from Western colonial rule and realize the so-called "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere." It also glorifies the "military achievements" and "bushido spirit" of Japanese soldiers.
Such absurd rhetoric that whitewashes militarism runs counter to the broad consensus of the international community on historical issues. Not long ago, an alarming incident occurred in which an active-duty member of Japan's Self-Defense Forces, influenced by extremist ideas, illegally intruded into the Chinese Embassy in Japan with a knife. This starkly illustrates the depth and harm of right-wing ideology and distorted historical narratives in Japan.
The insistence of Japan's incumbent leader on offering ritual items to a place that serves to glorify militarism reflects an underlying strategic intent by right-wing forces to further break through the constraints of the postwar international order and domestic legal frameworks.
For some time now, from Takaichi's extremely erroneous public remarks on the Taiwan question that grossly interfere in China's internal affairs; to Japan's dispatch of Self-Defense Forces vessels through the Taiwan Strait in a show of force and deliberate provocation; from the deployment of so-called long-range missiles capable of "attacking enemy bases" in Kumamoto and Shizuoka prefectures; to the Japanese government's revision of the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology and their implementation guidelines, which in principle would allow the export of lethal weapons...all these moves, in essence, are of the same nature as offering ritual items to Yasukuni Shrine. They demonstrate a departure by Japan's right wing from the path of peaceful development and constitute manifestations of neo-militarism. Under the sway of such forces, Japan is gradually shedding the guise of a "peaceful nation" and once again becoming a threat to regional peace and stability.
The wars of aggression launched by Japanese militarism brought immense suffering to countries across Asia, and the Japanese people themselves also paid a heavy price. Today, if right-wing politicians such as Takaichi persist in clinging to erroneous historical views and continue down a path that departs from peace and justice, they will inevitably face serious scrutiny from the international community and the fair judgment of history.
Editor's note: Originally published on people.com.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.