Yasukuni visit would add insult to injury: China Daily editorial

Speculation that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may visit the Yasukuni Shrine on Friday has once again put Japan's attitude toward history and peace under the spotlight. Should such a visit occur, it would not be an isolated personal gesture, but a political act with grave regional and international consequences, further escalating the diplomatic crisis already triggered by her erroneous remarks on the Taiwan Strait situation in the Diet on Nov 7.

The Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo is a long-standing symbol and spiritual tool of Japanese militarism, enshrining 14 convicted Class-A war criminals from World War II. Any visit by a sitting Japanese prime minister amounts to a public endorsement of a distorted historical narrative that glorifies aggression and denies the verdict of international justice.

The harm that would be caused by Takaichi visiting the Yasukuni Shrine would go far beyond diplomatic symbolism. As reported on Tuesday, bereaved families in the Republic of Korea have filed a lawsuit demanding the removal of the names of their relatives — forced conscripts who died during World War II — from the shrine. For these families, the enshrinement was carried out without consent and represents a further act of aggression, forcibly incorporating victims into a structure that whitewashes and glorifies Japan's wartime crimes. That such a case has now reached an ROK court underscores how unresolved and painful this issue remains for the victims and their descendants.

Against this backdrop, a Yasukuni Shrine visit by Takaichi would be a blatant disregard for the suffering of Asian peoples and a direct provocation to Japan's neighbors. As the Chinese Foreign Ministry has stressed, viewing and treating history correctly is a prerequisite for Japan's postwar return to the international community, the political foundation of its relations with neighboring countries, and a yardstick of its commitment to peaceful development.

What makes the current situation particularly worrying is that such a visit would not be an isolated misstep, but part of a broader and more dangerous trend. Takaichi is widely seen as the ideological successor to Shinzo Abe and a key promoter of Japan's right-wing agenda. Friday marks an anniversary of Abe's visit to the shrine in 2013. Takaichi's multiple visits to the shrine in the past before taking her current post, her open questioning of established conclusions on Japan's wartime aggression, and her reckless push to abandon what she calls "apology diplomacy" all point to a clear militant and revisionist intent.

This rightward shift has not emerged overnight. Japan's right-wing forces regained space during the Cold War and gradually moved from the margins to the mainstream. In recent years, they have become increasingly emboldened, with historical denial, constitutional revision and military expansion no longer fringe ideas but central policy directions. Under such circumstances, a Yasukuni Shrine visit by Takaichi would be a highly symbolic declaration that these forces now control Japan's political trajectory.

This historical revisionism, coupled with her reckless rhetoric on China's Taiwan region, only heightens regional anxiety. Together, they signal an attempt to break Japan free from its postwar pacifist framework and rehabilitate militarism under new pretexts. This is a path that leads not to "normalization", but to confrontation, mistrust and instability.

Japan has tens of thousands of Shinto shrines. Persisting in elevating Yasukuni above all others is a deliberate political choice. If Takaichi truly wishes to improve relations with neighboring countries and demonstrate responsibility befitting Japan's status, she should categorically refrain from visiting the shrine. If she persists with playing with fire on historical issues and does make a political show by visiting the shrine, Takaichi would pull Japan into a deeper crisis.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War. It serves as a reminder of the value of peace and human lives. History has already delivered its verdict. Any attempt to deny, dilute or glorify aggression will only isolate Japan and undermine regional peace. All peace-loving nations have reason to remain vigilant and firmly oppose any move that signals a return to the dangerous logic of militarism.