October 18, 2019

Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs Eto Seiichi on October 17 paid a visit to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo which glorifies Japan’s past war of aggression and colonial rule over Asian countries.

Eto visited the shrine on the occasion of the shrine’s autumn festival, which was the first one made by a Cabinet minister after Minister of Internal Affairs Takaichi Sanae did so in April 2017.

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and Labor Minister Kato Katsunobu sent offerings of “sakaki” tree branches. After assuming office in December 2012, Abe never forgets to present the shrine with sakaki branches at the occasion of its spring and autumn festivals and with monetary offerings on August 15, the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II.

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo later on the same day at a press conference in the Diet building severely criticized Eto for visiting the war-honoring shrine. He pointed out that Yasukuni Shrine enshrines class-A war criminals and glorifies Japan’s past war of aggression. Shii said, “Visiting Yasukuni is tantamount to supporting its historical view. No Cabinet ministers, let alone the prime minister, should visit such a facility.”

Past related article:
> More than 160 parliamentarians visit war-glorifying Yasukuni Shrine [August 16, 2017]