Takaichi Honors Yasukuni Shrine from Afar on War Anniv.

Tokyo, Aug. 15 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi did not visit Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday, the 81st anniversary of the end of World War II, but worshiped toward the war-related shrine from afar before attending a national war anniversary ceremony. Takaichi also sent a cash offering from her own money in her capacity as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Shortly after 11 a.m., Takaichi arrived at the parking area of the Nippon Budokan hall, the venue of the ceremony. About 10 minutes after arrival, she exited the car, turned toward Yasukuni Shrine, and performed the traditional Shinto ritual of two bows, two claps, and one bow. Aides to the prime minister admitted that she prayed in the direction of the shrine, located a 10-minute walk from the Nippon Budokan hall. Takaichi apparently hoped to maintain her conservative supporters, as her cabinet’s approval rate has declined in recent months. The shrine is viewed by China and South Korea as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism, because it enshrines Class-A war criminals alongside the war dead. Before taking office last October, Takaichi, a leading conservative hawk in the LDP, regularly visited the shrine, including when she was a cabinet minister. During the 2024 LDP leadership election, she vowed to continue visiting the shrine even if she became prime minister. However, she skipped visiting the shrine during its festivals last autumn, just before she was named prime minister, and this spring. In the 2025 party leadership election, she said that she would pray from anywhere. On Saturday, four of her cabinet ministers visited Yasukuni Shrine separately. They were Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, Hitoshi Kikawada, the minister of state for Okinawa and Northern Territories affairs, economic and fiscal policy minister Minoru Kiuchi, and economic security minister Kimi Onoda. This is the first time in six years that as many as four ministers have visited Yasukuni Shrine on the war-end anniversary. Koizumi became the first defense minister to visit the shrine on the occasion since Minoru Kihara in 2024. Kikawada and Kiuchi told reporters separately that they prayed for peace for the souls enshrined there, while Koizumi and Onoda did not respond to reporters. Still, Koizumi wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he renewed his determination to continue Japan’s pursuit of peace. LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki, who delivered Takaichi’s offering, also visited the shrine, along with Haruko Arimura, head of the party’s General Council, and Yasutoshi Nishimura, the party’s election campaign chief. Suzuki later told reporters that he respected the prime minister’s thoughts about the enshrined souls. He also said that his visit demonstrated the LDP’s policy of “continuing visits to Yasukuni Shrine.” The day’s other visitors included LDP Executive Acting Secretary-General Koichi Hagiuda, Sanseito party leader Sohei Kamiya, and Conservative Party of Japan head Naoki Hyakuta. A suprapartisan group of about 90 lawmakers, including members of the LDP and its coalition party, the Japan Innovation Party, visited the shrine together. The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a spokesperson’s statement strongly protesting Takaichi’s offering and the four ministers’ visit to Yasukuni Shrine. A spokesperson for the South Korean Foreign Ministry also released a statement criticizing the actions by Takaichi and the ministers as anachronistic and ignorant of history. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]