news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, August 15 (Reporter Jiang Qiaomei and Hu Xiaoge) August 15 this year marks the 79th anniversary of Japan's defeat. On that day, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, through his agent, offered "tamagushi" (sacrificial fee) to the Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrines Class A war criminals of World War II, in his capacity as "President of the Liberal Democratic Party".

On the morning of the same day, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, Minister of Economic Revitalization Yoshitaka Shindo and Minister of Economic Security Sanae Takaichi visited the Yasukuni Shrine. In addition, former Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, former Minister of Economic Security Takayuki Kobayashi and members of the cross-party parliamentary alliance "Everyone Visits the Yasukuni Shrine Together" also visited the Yasukuni Shrine on the same day.

The Yasukuni Shrine is located in Chiyoda District, Tokyo, and enshrines 14 Class A war criminals of World War II, including Hideki Tojo. For a long time, some Japanese politicians have insisted on visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, which has been strongly opposed by peace-loving people in Japan and the international community, and has also led to tensions between Japan and Asian countries such as China and South Korea.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Japan said on the 15th that the Yasukuni Shrine is a spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarism's war of aggression, and enshrines 14 Class A war criminals of World War II who committed heinous crimes. The negative moves by the Japanese side once again reflect the Japanese government's wrong attitude towards its own history of aggression, hurt the feelings of the people of Asian victim countries including China, and violate the statements and commitments made by the Japanese side on historical issues. China solemnly urges the Japanese side to truly face up to and reflect on its history of aggression and war crimes, be prudent in its words and deeds on historical issues such as the Yasukuni Shrine, truly draw a clear line with militarism, and not further lose the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community.

On the 15th, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed deep disappointment and regret on its official website in the name of a spokesperson for the high-ranking Japanese politicians who offered sacrifices or paid homage to the Yasukuni Shrine, urging Japanese leaders to face up to history and show humble reflection and sincere introspection of history with practical actions, and once again emphasized that this is an important foundation for the development of future-oriented South Korea-Japan relations. (End)