Newsfrom Japan
Politics
Aug 15, 2025 14:14 (JST)
Tokyo, Aug. 15 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Friday, the 80th anniversary of the country’s surrender in World War II.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba made a “tamagushi” ritual offering at the Shinto shrine in his capacity as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party while refraining from paying a visit. He paid for the offering through a representative.
Koizumi’s visit marked the sixth consecutive year of a Japanese cabinet minister visiting the war-related shrine on the anniversary.
The shrine, located in the Japanese capital’s Chiyoda Ward, is regarded as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism by neighboring countries such as China and South Korea as it enshrines Class-A World War II criminals along with the war dead.
It is the first time that a minister of the Ishiba cabinet was confirmed to have visited Yasukuni Shrine on special occasions, including its spring and autumn festivals as well as the war-end anniversary. Ishiba took office last October.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Jiji Press
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