CHINA, INTERNATIONAL, COMMENTARY: Visiting Yasakuni Shrine: Enjoyable for Japanese Prime Minister?
By Julia Zhu
With the denouncement of China and South Korea and criticism from fellow Japanese ringing in his ears, Junichiro Koizumi, in his black suit, calmly paid his visit to Yasakuni shrine on the morning of October 17th, the fifth time since he became Japanese Prime Minister.
Few could fully understand why Koizumi made such a move at a time of heightening diplomatic tension. He has insisted that he did not mean to glorify war but to pray for peace by paying homage to Yasukuni shrine, and that those visits are personal. But would the public consider it personal simply because he took the public entrance?
During an interview by the Times, Koizumi assumed that China did not welcome a growth in Japan's political influence with reference to China's opposition to Japan becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council. But assumptions are assumptions. Personally, I think there is good reason for the Chinese government to attempt to actually check Japan's influence. Japanese officials haven't demonstrated enough sincerity, judging from the case of the textbook revisions or many other offensive episodes, and thus failed to win trust from its neighbors. After all, how can one trust someone who is constantly breaking his promise, even if he poses as a friend all the time?
As for his fifth visit to Yasakuni shrine where the top-level war criminals of WWII are remembered, I think there are better explanations.
First, it is for Koizumi's political purpose. As we all know, ever since he was running for ruling party president in 2001, he pledged to make the pilgrimages. Doubtlessly this action helped him gain the support from the powerful military veterans. His decision of repeatedly visiting the shrine despite the diplomatic disputes demonstrate an unwavering stance welcomed by many voters as a sign of strong leadership. The success of the Liberal Democratic Party in the snap elections on September 11 no doubt inspired him to continue the strategy. Though it may freeze Japan's already chilly relations with its neighbors and bring consequent damage to economic relations--even though the annual trade between China and Japan is valued at $212 billion--for Koizumi, it's still worth a try!
Secondly, the visits also serve diplomatic purposes. So far, Japan has made little progress in many diplomatic events and aroused strong hostility not only in China and South Korean, but also in Russian over land disputes. Its influence on the Six-party Talks over denuclearization of Korean Peninsula turned out to be limited. With the awkward circumstance of the 60th anniversary of the victory of WWII, there's a need for the Japanese government to avert its citizens' eyes while undermining the influence of China, North Korea and South Korea. And a visit to Yasakuni shrine simply cracks all of these.
Of course, there is nothing wrong in offering sincere condolences to the war dead from Japan and other parts of the world, and none of us have the right to meddle with matters of Japanese culture. Yet the question is: did Koizumi do it simply for this reason?
After so much hurt done and so many objections raised, what interests me greatly is that Koizumi could calmly talk about retiring to his personal life. In the Times interview he said: "When you are not prime minister, there are many ways to enjoy yourself." But unfortunately, he still is.
With the denouncement of China and South Korea and criticism from fellow Japanese ringing in his ears, Junichiro Koizumi, in his black suit, calmly paid his visit to Yasakuni shrine on the morning of October 17th, the fifth time since he became Japanese Prime Minister.
Few could fully understand why Koizumi made such a move at a time of heightening diplomatic tension. He has insisted that he did not mean to glorify war but to pray for peace by paying homage to Yasukuni shrine, and that those visits are personal. But would the public consider it personal simply because he took the public entrance?
During an interview by the Times, Koizumi assumed that China did not welcome a growth in Japan's political influence with reference to China's opposition to Japan becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council. But assumptions are assumptions. Personally, I think there is good reason for the Chinese government to attempt to actually check Japan's influence. Japanese officials haven't demonstrated enough sincerity, judging from the case of the textbook revisions or many other offensive episodes, and thus failed to win trust from its neighbors. After all, how can one trust someone who is constantly breaking his promise, even if he poses as a friend all the time?
As for his fifth visit to Yasakuni shrine where the top-level war criminals of WWII are remembered, I think there are better explanations.
First, it is for Koizumi's political purpose. As we all know, ever since he was running for ruling party president in 2001, he pledged to make the pilgrimages. Doubtlessly this action helped him gain the support from the powerful military veterans. His decision of repeatedly visiting the shrine despite the diplomatic disputes demonstrate an unwavering stance welcomed by many voters as a sign of strong leadership. The success of the Liberal Democratic Party in the snap elections on September 11 no doubt inspired him to continue the strategy. Though it may freeze Japan's already chilly relations with its neighbors and bring consequent damage to economic relations--even though the annual trade between China and Japan is valued at $212 billion--for Koizumi, it's still worth a try!
Secondly, the visits also serve diplomatic purposes. So far, Japan has made little progress in many diplomatic events and aroused strong hostility not only in China and South Korean, but also in Russian over land disputes. Its influence on the Six-party Talks over denuclearization of Korean Peninsula turned out to be limited. With the awkward circumstance of the 60th anniversary of the victory of WWII, there's a need for the Japanese government to avert its citizens' eyes while undermining the influence of China, North Korea and South Korea. And a visit to Yasakuni shrine simply cracks all of these.
Of course, there is nothing wrong in offering sincere condolences to the war dead from Japan and other parts of the world, and none of us have the right to meddle with matters of Japanese culture. Yet the question is: did Koizumi do it simply for this reason?
After so much hurt done and so many objections raised, what interests me greatly is that Koizumi could calmly talk about retiring to his personal life. In the Times interview he said: "When you are not prime minister, there are many ways to enjoy yourself." But unfortunately, he still is.
2 Comments:
At 12:12 AM , Austin Arensberg said...
Perfect example of a campaign promise that he felt he actually had to hold and it is costing his image abroad dearly. But this whole debacle mirrors an assertive stance being carved out by one of the top 5 militaries in the world. Something perhaps inevitable 60 years after its pacification but regrettable nonetheless.
At 11:46 PM , Julia Zhu said...
Thank you for your comment. I agree with what you said about Japanese Prime Minister. Besides the reasons I have mentioned in my article, this is another important one--to keep the campaign promise of his own.
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