05.30.05
Memorial Day, but not in Japan
So, today is Memorial Day in the U.S., when we remember those who have fought and died for our country. Usually we celebrate by having BBQs and partying. I know few people who actually visit gravesites besides the president. However, Japan’s Memorial Day is some other day. It was just Monday to them. That doesn’t mean that memorials aren’t in the news however. Every day in the paper I’m finding another new article about Prime Minister Koizumi’s controversial visits to the Yasukuni Shrine.
The Yasukuni Shrine is essentially the Japanese equivalent to Arlington National Cemetary. Anyone who served their country during a war is buried there. In America, no one questions the president’s visits to Arlington—they expect them. However in Japan, it’s a different story.
Amongst all the thousands and thousands of normal Joe’s (maybe normal Kentaro’s in Japan) who died following the orders of their country are 18 men classified as war criminals from World War II. Because of these 18, Yasukuni Shrine has become a symbol of Japanese Nationalism to her neighbors, especially China and South Korea. Many prime ministers choose not to visit the shrine because of the political fallout.
Granted, China and South Korea do have cause to be upset. Those 18 men were the primary masterminds behind a lot of the Japanese atrocities of World War II, including the Nanking massacre, where an estimated 400,000 people were raped and killed in a short period of time to send a “message” to China. Ick.
But to forbid a national leader to pay his respects to the other thousands of people who just did their duty? That seems a trifle unfair. When Ollie North dies, he will be buried in Arlington, despite his involvement in Iran-Contra. I’m not keen with the idea, but it’s his right. (OK, so Ollie is all I’ve got, and he’s a weak comparison, I know. But the U.S. has managed to “win” all it’s wars so far, so what can I do?) I wouldn’t not visit Arlington, just because of him. There’s a lot of other men and women buried there, too.
There have been some efforts at making “amends”. Koizumi says he’s just visiting as a private citizen, but no one’s buying that. There have been suggestions to move the war criminals to a different site, or start a new memorial site, but they’ve gotten a fairly chilly response. Every day, a seemingly new group asks Koizumi to stop going, but he says no.
In the meantime, China is making unhappy noises, and South Korea is recalling visiting dignitaries. It may be that the publisher of The Japan Times has a political beef with Koizumi, especially since he usually visits only once a year.
It’s a big issue here. Happy Memorial Day.