bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Associated Press

Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, which honours Japan’s war dead, including convicted World War II war criminals, was vandalised again overnight on Monday.
“It is deplorable that an act seeking to denigrate the shrine’s dignity has happened again,” the shrine said in a statement.
In May, a stone pillar at Yasukuni was spray-painted red.
Jiang Zhuojun, 29, who lived north of Tokyo, was later arrested “on suspicion of vandalism and disrespect for a place of worship”, Tokyo police said in July.
A Yasukuni shrine official confirmed the new case of graffiti, without elaborating further.
Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed a stone pillar defaced with Chinese words meaning: “Dog toilet sh**. Militarism, go to hell.”
Asian nations that suffered from Japanese aggression before and during World War II see Yasukuni as a symbol of militarism.


Convicted Class A war criminals, including Hideki Tojo, Japan’s wartime prime minister, are among the 2.5 million Japanese war dead enshrined at Yasukuni. The shrine itself, a dramatic-looking building with sweeping roofs, also includes in its grounds memorials and museums dedicated to kamikaze pilots.
It also includes a museum that portrays Japan largely as a victim of US aggression in WWII and makes scant reference to the extreme brutality of invading Imperial troops when they stormed through Asia.
Every year on August 15, the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II, there is scrutiny of which Japanese politicians visit Yasukuni to pray for the war dead.
Such visits have angered some of Japan’s Asian neighbours and former victims of its imperialism, especially China and South Korea.
Many regular Japanese go there to pray for their family members and friends, regardless of their political views.
This year, some politicians, including Defence Minister Minoru Kihara, prayed at the shrine on August 15. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has announced he will not seek reelection next month, did not go but sent an offering.
Emperor Naruhito and his late father Akihito have not visited Yasukuni.
The maximum penalty for property damage is three years in prison and a 300,000 yen (US$2,000) fine.


‘We seek China to behave responsibly,’ says Japan’s new foreign minister

Hong Kong stocks surge; BlackRock turns ‘modestly overweight’ on China shares

Japan braces for dual typhoons as 1 in 5 face flooding risk, study reveals

India rejects Japan’s call for ‘Asian Nato’, despite growing tensions with China

Japan

Japan’s Yasukuni Shrine that honours war dead, convicted war criminals, vandalised again

A blue sheet covers a stone pillar on which graffiti was found at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Monday. Photo: AP

In South Korea, controversy over key ‘pro-Japan’ academic appointments reopens WWII wounds

South Korean protesters hold a rally against Seoul’s announcement of plans to compensate victims of Japan’s forced wartime labour, outside the foreign ministry in March 2023. Photo: AFP

Kim Hyung-seok, the new head of the Independence Hall of Korea. Photo: Handout

(From left) South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hold a press conference following three-way talks at Camp David in August 2023. Photo: TNS

“Doyu-no-warito”, a symbol of the Sado gold mine complex, is seen in Sado, Niigata prefecture, Japan, in March 2023. Seoul last month endorsed Japan’s bid to have the Sado gold mine recognised as a Unesco World Heritage site. Photo: Kyodo News via AP

Japan eyes ‘game-changing’ military hardware to tackle its manpower shortage

Japanese soldiers walk past a US Patriot missile battery during a troop review in Tokyo. Photo: Reuters

Japanese servicemen take part in a military drill involving troops from Japan, the US, Britain and Australia last year. Photo: AFP

Japan’s ministers visit Yasukuni shrine ‘in private capacity’ on World War II anniversary

Japanese lawmakers visit Yasukuni shrine. Photo: Kyodo/via Reuters

Who will replace Fumio Kishida as Japan’s PM? Take a look at the contenders

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida leaves the August 14 press conference in which he announced he will not seek re-election. Photo: Reuters

Yoko Kamikawa speaks during a news conference after a Quad Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo last month. Photo: AP

LDP lawmaker Takayuki Kobayashi speaks to the media during a visit to Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine on August 15. Photo: AFP

Shigeru Ishiba speaks during an interview in Tokyo on August 6. He has made several unsuccessful runs for the leadership. Photo: Reuters

Taro Kono lost to Kishida in the last party presidential election due to a lack of backing from parliamentary peers. Photo: Reuters

LDP Secretary- General Toshimitsu Motegi delivers a speech during a party convention in March. Photo: Reuteers

Shinjiro Koizumi in 2020. The former environment minister has kept a low profile since telling a 2019 new conference he wanted to make climate action “sexy”. Photo: Reuters

Sanae Takaichi, the current minister for economic security, visits Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine on August 15. Photo: Kyodo

Katsunobu Kato (right) is a dark horse in the race, but could emerge as a compromise candidate. Photo: Kyodo

Adele deletes rising sun flag image from concert footage after uproar from South Koreans

British singer Adele. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

East Asia

Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, seen as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism, reported a second case of graffiti in three months


Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, seen as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism, reported a second case of graffiti in three months.
