Why is Japan’s Yasukuni Shrine so controversial? 

This shrine is controversial because the Japanese government choose not to separate those in military convicted of war crimes from those who died in wars. The Japanese government ,unlike Germany still admires their leaders who were guilty of committing heinous war crimes during WW2. The solution is simple that is to separate those convicted of war crimes in another shrine but Japan refused to do this. The current Japanese government still have desire to respect war criminals.

Well, considering Abe Shinzo's grandfather, Kishi Nobusuke, was himself a class A war criminal for his atrocities as the shadow boss of Manchuria. The very fact that he was not only let go by McArthur's cronies in exchange for his willing cooperation as an anti-communist bulwark, but also went on to become the PM of Japan, instead of having justice served to him, explains perfectly well why the Yasukuni is controversial.

some of you might not understand why neighboring countries blast on Japanese politicians visiting Yasukuni Shrine, in this shrine there are dozens of a list war criminals ( according to International Military Tribunal for the Far East) still being worshiped, this is a manifestation that the official government of Japan refuse to acknolwedge the war crimes and atrocities this country commited in China, Korea and southeast asia. If you as a Japanese teen, he probably knows nothing about Japan's notorious conducts in the past. this part of history is not taught and totally erased by the government, which is a stark contrast to modern German's attitude that admits fully and apologize to the victims.

DO remember that this shrine is NOT state owned. The USA told the Japanese to separate it from the EMPEROR / state. Which they did ... handing it over to a private organisation who some have questioned re their honouring of war criminals.. Of the 2,466,532 people named in the shrine's Book of Souls, 1,068 are war criminals or alleged war criminals including fourteen men charged with Class A war crimes (eleven were convicted on those charges, one was found not guilty of Class A but guilty of Class B, two died during or before trial) by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, because of the decision to honour individuals who were found responsible for serious breaches of international humanitarian law, China, Russia,[2] South Korea and North Korea have called the Yasukuni Shrine an exemplar of the nationalist, revisionist and unapologetic approach Japan has taken towards its conduct during World War II. The USA allowed what transpired following the Japanese defeat, for extremists to deny, block and often pervert the truth re war crimes, crimes against humanity and many other terrifying horrors the Japanese were found guilty of. Denying that history to millions of school children from kindergarten onwards.. many of whom grew up without knowing the truth partly due to many ex war criminals ending up in positions of power within the 'diet' / political overseers.

One thing that nobody knows is, the emperor himself (also previous emperors like hirohito and akihito) never visited this shrine unlike the prime ministers.

They should own their mistakes NOT deny them

If someone from the Middle East created an Osama bin Iaden memorial shrine, than would you rather called them extremist, or rather someone who preserved the Arabic culture??? The same goes to Japan who decided to honor their criminals

Flying the imperial army flag is offensive. The war crimes committed in Asia under that flag have gone largely unanswered.

Yasukuni Shrine is a highly political shrine that was originally built by the Meiji government to legitimize its overthrow of the Edo shogunate. At the beginning of the Boshin War, the imperial family was still on the side of the Shogunate, but this shrine also enshrines the enemies of the Imperial Court who were on the Meiji Restoration side. Furthermore, although it has the name of a Shinto shrine（神社）, it more like a Taoism shrine（廟） than a shrine（神社） that treats the dead as heroes. When this shrine got criticized from overseas, it is only criticized for enshrining war criminals who committed war crimes in Asia. but this shrine also served as a facility to glorify death, telling many young people at the time, ``If you fight and die for Japan, you can become a heroic spirit.'' I used to like this shrine, but the more I learned about it, the more I felt there were various political, historical, religious, and moral contradictions in it, so I don't like it anymore.

The real controversy with Yasukuni is that the 13 war criminals were quietly enshrined in 1969, over 20+ years after they were executed. Why did Japan wait 20 odd years to do it? Why do it at all? We know why.

A lack of punishment of criminals after the war has led to this

Bowing down at Yasukuni Shrine is shameful for all who know about history.

This is why it's still very hard to forgive Japan for their war crimes against Asia-Pacific, they never had their own 'vergangenheitsbewältigung'.

I have visited the Yasukuni Shrine while in Japan for business. Overall it is an excellent museum and has very nice exhibits showing the war from their standpoint. I did notice some obvious glossing over of some events (such as the Manila Intermuros massacres) which I wrote about in a visitors book. Allow me to recall a conversation I had with my father after he started communicating with a young German gentleman who lived in the area of Germany where my father’s brother was killed in action (RIP Uncle Jack) they traded some fascinating letters and developed quite the friendship. I asked my father if he harbored any resentment toward Germans in general because of his brother’s death. He said that he did not, and the reason was that the average German solider was following orders and doing his duty. He believed all wars are started by the politicians and he thought if 2 countries got into a disagreement it was best to have several regular folks from each country sit down at a kitchen table over coffee and sort it out. So I agree with many of the other comments here that if the shrine eliminated the convicted war criminals then the shrine could have a different meaning and let the regular folks honor the on-the-ground soldiers and sailors who died doing their duty. (Slightly ironic, Dad was in the Seabees in the Pacific during the war and after the surrender he served in Sasebo, Japan during the USA Occupation and really enjoyed the regular folk there).

The Yasukuni Shrine is basically an amusement park for Japanese war-crime deniers and ultra-nationalists. They claim to "pay respect" for the soldiers when they are just fantasizing about the resurrection of Japan's long lost imperial might.

The fact japan doesnt teach their youngs bout their war attrocities is disgusting.

One of the problems is that many Japanese know very little about what Japan did in WW2 as it is not widely taught in schools in Japan and many of its War Criminals are still revered as heroes to many Japanese. It is usually only when Japanese go abroad that they start to learn the truth of what atrocities the Japanese military did during WW2. It’s a tough pill to swallow when it’s discovered your hero isn’t so much of a hero.

The shrine's standing means symbol of geopolitical ambition. Japanese ruling class wants Japan to be a world superpower.

3.5 years of Japan occupancy in Indonesia was worst than 300 years of Dutch Colonialism in Indonesia. The pity is most of young Indonesian never knew or learned the history.

I was born and raised in the American south. I can understand where they’re coming from. There’s so many monuments honoring confederate soldiers while those honoring confederate generals are the most controversial. My family driving though downtown often pass by a 6 foot obelisk that’s built on the sight of a church that burnt down during the civil war. Beneath the obelisk it reads “Our Confederate Dead” so if you’re going though Tokyo and you see something in a Shinto or Buddhist shrine that says “Our Japanese WWII Dead” I can understand how some looking on the outside would get upset. We in America have completely come to peace with Germany, Italy, and Japan after the war ended. American news media has never made a fuss about the events mentioned in the video.

Japanese Heisenberg isn’t real, he can’t hurt you Hideki Tojo :

There's a reason why the current emperor doesn't visit Yasukuni Shrine.

In the first place, there is no clear legal basis for the distinction between A, B, and C. These are criminal categories used by the Allies for convenience in selecting war criminals, and the designation "Class A war criminal" is merely a "common name.

Forgiveness is to move forward, but not to forget is our future peace, we can forgive but never forget

The shrine isn’t necessarily the problem, it’s the fact that they refuse to distinguish between regular Japanese soldiers and war criminals, since distinguishing would be seen as an admission of guilt in WW2

*This should be shown in schools!*

A curious detail is that one of the princes of the Korean royal family ended up there and they refused to return his remains to Korea.

It's not a dedication to war crimes, its dedication to men who died for their country and their families, as a former service member I must respect another warrior.

Simple answer: war criminals are enshrined and politicians still pay respect to those people who committed such atrocities. The museum which I got to go inside was so hilarious because it paints Japan as a victim. It’s quite ironic though, a country that prides itself on humility and humbleness can’t even bring themselves to the fact that while the shrine wasn’t always meant to have such a controversial image, it’s become that way because the idiots who couldn’t get over losing the war despite instigating America to join still couldn’t humble themselves and still think of those who committed INTERNATIONAL ATROCITIES as people to be respected. I actually feel bad for any children and youth who subjected to learning history from this shrine filled with lies. To any parents or grandparents that continue to respect this shrine and even worse subject the youth to this nonsense YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. Culture has nothing to do with this, guys like Tojo don’t deserve any respect.

Read more about the Yasukuni Shrine controversy: sc.mp/oend

Yasukuni Shrine is not a shrine that enshrines only war criminals such as Hideki Tojo. There is a book in which all the names of the war dead from the Boshin War to World War IIThe writing of the names in the ledger book is an act of enshrinement. Therefore, there is no special monument enshrining anyone, not only Hideki Tojo.(There is a bronze statue of Masujiro Omura, but it is not enshrined.)In the Japanese Shinto religion, there is a belief that everyone is equal in death, so even the hated Tojo, who caused the death of 3 million Japanese, is treated equally by the Japanese.

People tend to ignore the fact that they are war criminals simply because they lost the war. Literally every army general in any country committed murders on civilians during WWII.

You can't condem a national shrine to war dead because of 1 war.

Cheers to the guy who used it as a toilet and wrote "toilet" on it, he's a legend.

What warcrime class do you get for dropping an atomic bomb on a heavily populated civilian target?

Yasukuni Shrine is a place to honor those who have died in the line of duty since 1868. Not only in the Pacific War, people who served Japan are enshrined in Yasukuni Shrine after their death. Too many people misunderstand the meaning of the existence of Yasukuni Shrine in the first place.

Obviously we can see this fact. The truth is there's nothing wrong with that. First of all, as a Sacerdos I believe that one should not criticize religions and their affairs that one does not understand. Secondly, this Shinto shrine has neither a spiritual tablet nor a cemetery. Only the roster. My logic tells me that this is not worshiping criminals. Third, even after World War II there were still far more serious crimes committed by many people in many countries. In the Soviet Union, China, France or the Middle East and Southeast Asia, these men who committed more serious crimes were literally worshiped, and their memorials and statues still stand in those countries. I don't think I know enough about the situation in every country, but I know Japan, and I know that the people in this country are kind and repentant.

So many people saying we don’t learn about the war in Japan… this is not true. We learn about the war not only in history classes, but in various other classes and field trips etc. It felt awful to read through the textbook as my own country made mistakes after mistakes leading up to the war, and committing atrocities during the war. Sadly, some (many) students don’t take these classes seriously, as it is just another type of school work for them.

It's honestly a rather nice museum

This is why that when it comes to nation who admits that their past is wrong and have a self-responsible that they should not let that happen again, Germany has my respect. A lot of people are They don't shy away to those things. They can be both proud of their culture and tradition while at the same time, they are not denying their past mistakes

Nothing wrong with remembering the men who fought for your nation.

What is the definition of war crimes? The USA used two nuclear bombs, killing more than 100k civilians in Japan, but no one has ever been convicted of war crimes. The world sees what is happening in Gaza, and no one calls it a war crime.

While the westerners colonizing or invading almost every country on earth and never getting questioned for their sins and past deeds😢

🇵🇭: We're going to forget the whole World War 2 thing, if you're gonna give us free anime. 🇯🇵: You got it, fam.

I am Chinese and I think we shouldn’t hold a grudge because (1) 2 generations of Japanese emperors have expressed regret about Japan’s role in the war, coming close to but just short of formally apologising and (2) the Japanese population is aging so fast that pretty soon the entire Yamato race will be resting in some sort of a shrine anyway. Who cares if they worship mountains or trees or rabbits or criminals?

Japanese are ignorant of their war crimes

There are several misunderstandings in the comment sections. This shrine is now separated from the state authority, and became a private religious institute after the war. The state is not involved with who is enshrined or not. And those who visit the shrine are not necessarily "worshiping" the war criminals. Visiting the shrine is normally seen as a gesture to express a sense of guilt and regret for the citizens who died in vain because of the times they were born in with the militaristic government, pledging that we will not follow the same path Japan once went on. After the modernization of Japan, the imperial government promoted State Shintoism as a way to create a strong national identity among the citizens. This shrine has been believed to be a place where souls of any dead soldiers who fought on the side of the emperors would come around. In the second world war, a lot of people were drafted unwillingly, and people were not able to raise their voice against the government under toxic surveillance. There was no freedom of speech like we have today, and anyone who opposed the war would have been treated a traitor of the country. Soldiers often expressed their acceptance of death by saying “Let's meet in Yasukuni” before a dying battle. This was to comfort their comrades and loved ones that they can still meet again someday after death. I can speak as an ordinally Japanese man for the majority of us. State Shintoism is no longer believed. People are abhorrent of the imperial time, and really condemn the situation where the militaristic government created and forced the people to engage in a toxic nationalism. Yes, it's also the fault of the citizens who supported the militarism, but at the same time, citizens who wanted to have a normal life were victims of the times they were born in. I don't worship war criminals, and I condemn the wrong path the government has taken in Asia Pacific. But I have visited the shrine and paid sympathy to those who had unwillingly lost their lives in such time, while appreciating the privilege of myself being born in a peaceful time. As shown on the video, there are ultra right wingers who deny certain atrocities. Because of the nature of the shrine, it has a strong association with ultra nationalists. I don't support them, but they are a minority. Such people are called 'Kyokuu' and people give them a cold start on the streets. Personally I don’t support the politicians visiting Yasukuni Shrine during official business from the perspectives of separation of church and state. I understand the sentiments from Korea and China on this shrine. Emperors themselves stopped going to the shrine after the shrine decided to enshrine the class A,B,C criminals in the Tokyo trial. But I don't think any prime ministers who has given a prayer at the shrine supports war criminals. They have explained so as well. If it's private, I think it’s their choice to visit the shrine.

There's also 'Yasukuni Shrine' in indonesia, some 3000 japanese soldiers stayed in here to fight against the return of the Dutch, the fallen japanese soldier enshrined as hero in indonesia, and every japanese prime minister and emperor have visited the soldiers grave.

内政干渉意外の何物でもないな、そもそもA級だのB級戦犯だのが戦勝国側の事後法による一方的な犯罪者扱いでしかない。ほとんどの日本人は東条英機が犯罪者だなんて思ってないよ、あくまでも戦時内閣の難しい舵取りを任され、その責任を被って処刑された１人の政治家でしかない。

Complete and total non-issue

The Yasukuni Shrine is one of the most beautiful sacred places in the world. I've visited every year since I moved to Tokyo.

In my case, the past gives me peace and the present makes me worry about the future.

Japan will be seen by most as entirely evil, there’s always not very much told stories there’s few individuals soldiers who made a difference, look up for the name of Capt. Issao Yamazoe (along with forgotten soldier in the history), you’ll know why he was even honored in the Dulag, Leyte Philippines, even after WWII

Japan has their own mindset, beliefs and values, I believe many Japanese are questioning the Yasukuni shrine too, but it's difficult. You honor the fallen soldiers who fought for the country indiscriminately. They were writers, bus drivers, office workers, musicians, criminals, beggars or playboys, rich or poor, whatever. They're honored indiscriminately at this Shrine. It's also a point of view.

There are no bones or bodies in Yasukuni. It just has a soul. Do you understand that?

Every country has the right to memorialize people who died in service to their country. Regardless of what you believe, you would say the same for your own country.

I used to teach at a private school right next door to here. I’d always see police around there.

Its not a crime to say something wrong about history in japan . It is in Germany. Germans are personally affected in their lives by the law to remember history. If its a crime and you do something criminal you will personally feel fear what you say in the past. Thats why germans remember the past (only that part)

The fact is that history is written by the victorious side. However, what can be seen is only the winning side. We will discover a different history when the losers cannot be destroyed. To prevent this from happening, the truly evil countries will block all channels to prevent their citizens from seeing this. Because they dare not face the facts. Japan is obviously not such a country. Anyone who reads this paragraph should know who I am talking about.

The Koreans serving the Imperial Japanese Army are the one who committed these crimes.

I believe that visiting Yasukuni just reminds us painfully of all that has happened in the past so that we can improve upon ourselves

Its only a war crime if you lose. Remember that folks

It was a bit hypocritical of China to talk about military aggression when today they are doing it to their neighbors right now!

Tbh I don't think it matters these countries are just targeting the shrine

Most disgustest place of the world

Every nation has a right to appreciate those who gave their life for it.

Gotta love all the Japanese bots in here 💀

Conserving the shrine raises awareness serving as a strong reminder of the horrible past not as a reminder to repeat it.

There is so many japanese bootlickers here.😮

The scars of my grandparents in from the past is still imminent. The amount of damage the Japanese has done to Southeast Asia is unprecedented and still hurts today, especially to the "comfort women" in my country who is still deprived of benefits

All killing is criminal no matter what “side” you’re on.

you barely seeing youths in japan

Bru they almost conquered China they have my respect

This is clearly bullying . A shrine is just a shrine nothing more or less . China invaded and ruled Vietnam for like 1000 years and still want to do it , especially Taiwan right now is on the plate , did they show any remorse or stop doing it ? Nope

If you look at Japan a long time ago, you can see how scary militarism. The Japanese people should thank General MacArthur. He is the one who gave democracy to the Japanese people. At that time, 70% of the American people thought that the Japanese emperor should be punished as a war criminal or sentenced to a heavy sentence.

China also need to give up Tibet.

Well, if the shrine commemorate those common soldiers who died because of their leaders fault, I, as a Chinese, respect that. But now? I won’t spare my spits.

As an American, we have people that worship the confederacy and still say things like "the south will rise again!!!" So this isn't that bad 😅

I visited this shrine yesterday on the last day of my holiday to Japan for the first time. It’s a very ordinary shrine. Really not worth all the fuss.

What even is the concept of war crimes in the first place? People literally can't make reasonable decisions when they are at wars and during wars both winners and losers pretty much do things that are called war crimes.

The dead are the dead they can’t change what they did or even apologize they're actions in life were disgusting but in death they are nothing more than ash, ash that left behind families, many of the people shouldn't be celibated but they're families should still have a place mourn As I have Korean and Chinese friends who have great grandparents who were victimized by the Japanese empirial army I've been told of atrocities commited but holding on to the hate rooted in the past ends up hurting everyone not justbthe original victims my condolences to anyone who may have experienced or anyone who's family may been effected by this issue I hope you all live in peace and prosperity

China makes it controversial, not Japan. It's the China's interference of the overseas affairs. China, being an Atheist country with Communism, they cannot fathom anything beyond money and materialism. That's the fact about Chinese Communism. Hypocritical.

It's not anyone's fault, I just pray that we never fight this war again.

I'm honestly tired of China's demagogue propaganda. I would like historical researchers from Japan and China to get together and have a thorough discussion about stories such as the Nanjing Incident and the 30 million people who died in China due to the Japanese invasion, by publicly broadcasting them to the world. All the people who see it can decide for themselves what is true and what is a lie.

They also removed Japanese VA for visiting the shrine in a mobile game call Arknight of a character called " Platnium"

Japan's government hasn't yet forgotten their glory days, they are waiting for a rebirth of their nation no longer under the strong arm of the U.S. but i doubt that will happen in our lifetime

For a country that values Honor and Humility in such a high regard, these type of denial or 'saving face' driven attitudes are extremely disappointing. It's not owning your mistakes, it's being a child (or man-child) instead of an adult.

I don't have any feelings about it. Many temples and ancestral halls in China have this phenomenon. For example, Guan Yu was actually the perpetrator of the ultimate war crime. Many of the soldiers on war memorials around the world have committed more serious crimes. These are the people who blame Japan. Their double standards are disgusting🤮

Music too loud barely hear the person telling a story

Would the jew and Europeans protest if German built a monument to honor Hilter

Easy. Just remove war criminals from the shrine

Yasukuni i love you~

If you don’t pay attention to history, you’re doomed to repeat it…

To visit a shrine is wrong but to build military bases in South China Sea in present day is not imperialism / act of aggression for Chinese leadership... wow.

Yasukuni >>>>> Comfort Women

If Perry had not come, Japan would not have interfered with other countries. The Japanese liberated India from the British. But some people will hate this. I think so.

Same as Arlington Cemetery.

Here comes Japanese student soldiers. Be prepared!!

The shrine houses very expensive breast implants from the Tokugawa Era.

It is certain that Japan today is the most peaceful and safe country in the world, with no wars. There are some idiots who claim that the Japanese military is the same as the Nazis, but the fact that Japan is more developed and peaceful than that idiot's country is interesting.