Aso stays away from Yasukuni Shrine

I would suggest to watch the documentary “Yasukuni” by an independent Chinese director to see the variety of Japanese people going there to celebrate the fallen souls.

And what does whatching too many anime and manga have to do with the study of history, my friend? Maybe you should stop judging over stereotypes. It doesn’t make you look good.

Criminals among Japanese soldiers? Are you trying to say that all Japanese soldiers were criminals and as such those received a just punishment despite not being granted a fair trial? Despite being condemned over hearsay and often (as was demonstrated later) proof forged by the chinese government?

“If you’re not Japanese or have no family ties to those enshrined in Yasukuni, you’re not welcome in this issue.”

And your authority for claiming this is?

“You people don’t even understand that you’re simply falling for the political scheming of countries that stir an anachronistic hate as much as possible to try and gain political advantages from pressuring Japan.”

It’s not an anachronistic hate. It’s a hate going on because of some Japanese politicians honoring the Imperialism of the past. The Yasukuni Shrine is the symbol of Japanese Imperialism after the WWII. In South Korea, people don’t honor the Korean royal family members who sold the country to Japan.

I’m happy that Hatoyama will make a secular facility for the WWII criminals. Why would you honor the war-era Japanese military and political leaders that were essentially subscribed to secular Western ideas of colonialism? It doesn’t make sense that they were enshrined to a religious facility in the first place.

Sometimes “being wrong” is not an exclusive privilege to one side. Yasukuni and the Japanese right are pretty creepy, Chinese/Korean Nationalists too. Its that easy.

This.

It’s interesting how most of those who chose to comment on the earlier post on Hiroshima to criticize American “war crimes” are so conspicuously silent when it comes to this issue.

It’s really not all that complicated at all, they’re just thinking that “if we give an inch, they’ll take a mile.” It’s not an entirely baseless viewpoint, considering that in Far Eastern cultures apologies tend to have greater implications and more “strings attached” than in Western cultures.

I now know where you get things wrong.
Yasukuni is not “a shrine which is the symbol of the regime who caused all of that”.

By the way, what do you mean by fanaticism?

You really have no idea what you are talking about, do you? Everything you have said is just spouting various (usually Korean or Chinese) pundits who have political motivations. Most of what you have is about as relevant as claiming Korea has no right to be upset about being colonized because some Koreans were collaborators.

However you are right about the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal being Victor’s Justice. And there certainly is Nihonjinron, though it is merely tangential to what you think your main argument is.

1. …within Japan the architects of the Pacific War are revered as heroes
–About as relevant as claiming that “within the USA blacks are despised” by only looking at the KKK. I doubt your average Japanese could even name an “instigator” of the war aside from perhaps Tojo.

2. …when their trials and punishments are dismissed as “victor’s justice”
–This criticism is far from extreme, and certainly not limited to Japan. You will find it in Allied histories as well. The key issue is that Class A, crimes against peace, was not a crime when the war was begun.

3. …when the wholesale massacres of Chinese and others by the Japanese Army are denied or dismissed with tu quoque arguments
–See point 1. You are obviously unaware of the large amount of work done on Japanese war atrocities by Japanese historians, for a start.

4. …when Japanese textbooks give the impression that Japan was not the instigator of the war but a victim of it
–And you know this from actually having read these textbooks?

5. …when various (often ludicrous) Nihonjinron are invoked to claim the inherent superiority of the Japanese people
–See point 1 again.

6. …it shouldn’t surprise that neighboring peoples are not convinced of Japan’s contrition
–Certainly not when there is much political capital to be gained by bashing Japan, no.

Incidentally, let’s compare and contrast:
“Gov. Bob Riley signed a resolution Thursday expressing “profound regret” for Alabama’s role in slavery and apologizing for slavery’s wrongs and lingering effects.”

The Prime Minister of Japan, Nakasone: “Japan has profoundly regretted the unleashing of rampant ultra nationalism and militarism”

What an interesting similarity of words there. So does that mean that Alabama isn’t really sincere? Look, just go and read this list and then state in precise terms why you feel that none of them are sincere.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_apology_statements_issued_by_Japan

“Wasn’t the State Shinto the main force of militarism that led to WWII?”
No, it was not. Shintoism had almost nothing to do with militarism, much less “main force”.

I really do not understand what you are trying to say. Do you want to say that Japanese soldiers during WW2 were fanatic because of Shintoism? Get real. They fought for their country. Suicide attacks were desperate measures to protect their own country, and were rational thing to do under extreme conditions. No religious fanaticism is involved there.

People go there to pray for the fallen soldiers. There is nothing fanatic about it.

Why, do you think, Japanese politicians visit that shrine? Every Japanese knows it is because they want the vote from WW2 veterans and surviving families. When they visit, veterans groups allot some vote for them. Their visits have no more meaning than that.

If you do not like Yasukuni, just leave it, for time will solve the problem. Yasukuni shrine is run by donations from veterans and surviving families of soldiers killed in the war. They are getting very old and rapidly decreasing in number. In 20 years or so, Yasukuni will run out of money. By the time, Japanese politicians will lose interest because their visit will bring no vote.