Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, visiting the Yasukuni
Shrine last
year. If he were to do so
again this year, it would undoubtedly add to
the growing alarm of
surrounding nations, who see a right-wing Japan
seeking a return to militarism.
Like Germans and Nazis, Japanese Must Admit to Imperial Crimes
(JoongAngIlbo, South
Korea)
"As long as the Yasukuni cult
dominates the Japanese mentality and the graves of war criminals are cherished,
it is very hard to expect Japan to mourn like the Germans. ... We understand
how the surviving families of Japan's war dead feel. They also suffered in the
defeat. But they don’t yet seem to realize that the monster which dragged them
into the hell of war was internally incubated militarism."
General Hideki Tojo, Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II, and the person most responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor. Sentenced to death for war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, he is still revered by many on the resurgent Japanese right.
At
the Grave
of the Seven Martyrs in Aichi Prefecture, Japan enshrines seven Class-A war
criminals, including Hideki Tojo, who was sentenced to death by the International
Military Tribunal for the Far East, and hanged in 1948. The fact that this
executed war criminal is referred to as a martyr illustrates Japan's skewed
historical perspective.
After
his execution, the U.S. Military Occupation Government immediately had Tojo’s body cremated in Yokohama and ordered the ashes
scattered in the Pacific Ocean by plane. The belief at the time was that this
would prevent his remaining supporters from sanctifying the remains.
And
indeed, Tojo supporters, including his defense
counsel, colluded with the manager of the crematorium and managed to hide and preserve
some of the remains. A handful of ashes from each of the seven war criminals ordered
executed were deposited into a common jar. Since separating them would have
been impossible, the ashes were kept together.
The
urn was then hidden at the Koa
Kannon Temple (dedicated to the Bodhisattva of Compassion)
in the famous hot spring town of Atami until its existence was devulged in 1958. It was then moved to Aichi Prefecture and
buried in its current location. A memorial
grave for Hideki Tojo also exists in Zoshigaya Cemetery in Tokyo, bereft, of course, of his the
actual remains.
The
situation in Japan is quite different from that in Germany, where finding a
grave of executed Nazi war criminals is exceedingly difficult.
When
one asks Japanese where Tojo is buried, most mistakenly
say the Yasukuni Shrine. Tojo and a
number of other Class-A war criminals are enshrined in Yasukuni,
which commemorates Japan's 2.47 million war dead [1068 are convicted WWII war
criminals]. However, no remains or ashes are kept there. The shrine has only name
plates of the dead. Rather, at Yasukuni, they are
enshrined as “gods.” In other words, Yasukuni is not
a grave. It is considered by many Japanese to be a memorial and national
religious site.
What
about Germany, another defeated World War II nation? Germans also have a
memorial dedicated to victims of the war. The NeueWache, or the New Guard House, is located in
Berlin. During the nation's division, it was in East Germany, and was called
the Memorial to the Victims of Fascism and Militarism. In 1993, after
reunification, the German government rededicated it as the Central Memorial of
the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Dictatorship.
On
the third Sunday of every November, a Day of Mourning ceremony is held there.
The holiday commemorates many of the war's victims, including the soldiers who drafted
by the Nazi regime, civilians killed during the armed conflict, Jews and
gypsies who died in concentration camps, and foreign nationals who fought
against the Nazis.
While
German soldiers who were mobilized for the war of aggression are also mourned,
neighboring countries don't protest because they are classified as victims of war
and dictatorship. This is made possible by the fact that they are considered
separate from the Nazis, and because Germans acknowledge the evil nature of
that war and have pledged not to repeat it.
In
this sense, Japan is far behind. Some still romanticize the country’s past
aggression, and argue that a visit to Yasukuni
belongs in the realm of religious freedom.
It
is only right that people who sacrifice their lives for their country should be
mourned. But an aggressor needs to concern itself with the countries it invaded
and convince them of the universality of the mourning it does, just as Germany has.
Regrettably, as long as the Yasukuni cult dominates
the Japanese mentality and the graves of war criminals are cherished, it is
very hard to expect Japan to mourn like the Germans.
Talks
of establishing a national mourning facility began more than a decade ago, but little
progress has been made. Of course, we understand how the surviving families of Japan's
war dead feel. They also suffered in the defeat. But they don’t yet seem to
realize that the monster which dragged them into the hell of war was internally
incubated militarism.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
In
the Murayama
Statement of 1995, the Japanese government apologized for its colonial rule.
But once you make an apology, you need to consistently maintain that position. One
can only doubt their sincerity when their actions fail to align with their
apologies. Yasukuni visits by Japanese cabinet
members are nothing but a denial of their past apologies. Is that how Japan
really wants to behave?
