Visiting Yasukuni Shrine

5–8 minutes

Yasukuni Shrine is one of the most controversial historical sites in East Asia. Located in Tokyo, the shrine was established in 1869 to commemorate those who died in service of Japan, beginning with conflicts such as the Boshin War and later including the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War. Over time, it came to enshrine approximately 2.5 million individuals who died in wars involving Japan.¹

However, following the end of World War II, Yasukuni Shrine evolved from a site of mourning into a focal point of diplomatic tension, particularly between Japan and countries that experienced Japanese occupation, such as China and South Korea. The core of the controversy lies in the shrine’s inclusion of convicted war criminals, which raises questions about how history, responsibility, and remembrance are interpreted.

Within the shrine grounds stands the Yūshūkan, a museum dedicated to Japan’s military history. It presents narratives of past conflicts and honors those who died for the nation, including soldiers, kamikaze pilots, and others enshrined at Yasukuni. The museum covers multiple eras, displaying artifacts and explanations of battles and leaders.

Due to my interest in East Asian history and diplomatic relations, I decided to see the Shrine for myself when I was 17 years-old. Photography inside the museum was prohibited unless otherwise stated, so the photos shown here are all ones that were permitted.

One particularly debated aspect of the Yūshūkan is its treatment of wartime events. What struck me most was its description of the Nanjing Massacre, which has been widely criticised by historians for downplaying the scale and nature of the atrocities. When I visited I saw one small square filled with a few sentences among the rows on war time information. Curious, I read it, only to find out that the passage emphasised a claim that Chinese soldiers who were disguised in civilian clothes were the perpetrators, and that they were severely prosecuted, rather than foregrounding the large-scale violence conducted by the Japanese army and civilian suffering that are widely documented in international scholarship. ² Compared to war museums in countries like Germany, which tend to confront wartime responsibility more directly, this interpretive approach can feel extremely different and has contributed to international criticism. I was personally startled when I saw just how little information was available on this piece of dark history, it left me disappointed to say the least as it confirmed the criticisms I had encountered beforehand.

I saw a homage to the late Shinzo Abe at the end of the museum, who was assassinated a month prior. Abe was known as a frequent visitor and worshipper of the Shrine, and photos were displayed of his visits to the shrine in 2013 and 2020, which drew protests from neighbouring countries. He was perhaps the most dedicated Prime Minister in recent years to constantly visit and send offerings to Yasukuni Shrine.

Many incidents have occurred at the Shrine in the past decade. A Chinese man was arrested for an arson attack in 2011. ³ In 2015 a South Korean man let a small bomb off in one of the rest rooms, nobody was injured. ⁴ More recently in 2024 a Chinese man urinated and spray painted the word “toilet” at the Shrine All of these incidents reflect how many people from former Japanese colonies perceive the Shrine. ⁵

You might wonder whether Yasukuni Shrine had always been associated with World War II war criminals. In fact, this was not originally the case. The individuals convicted as war criminals were not enshrined there for over 30 years after the war.

Photo: WSJ, Shinzo Abe in 2020

In 1978, Yasukuni Shrine enshrined 14 Class A war criminals who had been convicted in the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. This decision was not publicly announced at the time and Emperor Hirohito was not told in advance about the information. Although he had already last visited the shrine in 1975, records released later such as the “Tomita Memo” suggest he was displeased with the enshrinement. He never returned thereafter. ⁶ Shrine authorities have maintained that, according to Shinto belief, once a soul is enshrined it cannot be removed. In order to avoid political controversy, subsequent emperors, Emperor Akihito and Emperor Naruhito, have also refrained from visiting the shrine entirely.

Prime ministers have likewise been divided on the issue. Junichiro Koizumi, who served from 2001 to 2006, visited the shrine six times during his tenure, while Shinzo Abe visited shortly before his first term in 2006 and again while in office in 2013. ⁷ Aside from them, other recent Liberal Democratic Party leaders, such as Yasuo Fukuda, Yoshihide Suga, Fumio Kishida, and Shigeru Ishiba, have generally avoided visiting while in office. Similarly, the three prime ministers from the Democratic Party of Japan, Yukio Hatoyama, Naoto Kan, and Yoshihiko Noda, all pledged not to visit during their time in power from 2009 to 2012, reflecting the ongoing domestic and international sensitivity surrounding the shrine. ⁸

Photo: Jijitsushin, Junichiro Koizumi in 2006

During the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election in 2025, Sanae Takaichi stated her intention to visit Yasukuni Shrine. In interviews she also referenced the idea that Class B and Class C war criminals acted under military orders during wartime, suggesting they had already been punished and are not viewed in the same way within contemporary Japan. As many on the right side of Japanese politics perceive visiting Yasukuni Shrine as a gesture of nationalism, Takaichi’s wishes to pay her respects reflects this same mentality. ⁹

Takaichi‘s wishes to visit the shrine in the name of the Japanese nationalism contradicts the Imperial Family’s position, however. Critics argue that any framing of visits “in the name of the Emperor” can appear to conflict with the Imperial Household’s consistent non-visitation, which has become an important symbolic signal in Japan’s postwar approach to historical reconciliation. Takaichi and her cabinet have since visited the Shrine since she became Prime Minister.

An alternative site for commemoration is the Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery, where the remains of unidentified war dead are interred. Unlike Yasukuni Shrine, it is a secular memorial and does not enshrine individuals in a religious sense, nor does it include convicted war criminals. As a result, it is often viewed as a more politically neutral place of remembrance, and members of the imperial family regularly pay respects there.¹⁰

Photo via Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery’s Official Website

Another criticism raised in discussions around Yasukuni is that many of the individuals enshrined as war criminals, including figures such as Hideki Tojo, were not frontline soldiers, but political and military leaders responsible for wartime decision-making. From this perspective, one can conclude that honouring ordinary soldiers who died in battle at sites such as Chidorigafuchi may be more appropriate, as they focus specifically on the war dead themselves rather than leadership figures or contested historical legacies.

Ultimately, the controversy surrounding Yasukuni Shrine reflects tensions over how nations remember their past. On the one hand you have voices claiming that the shrine is a place to honour those who sacrificed their lives. On the other, both within Japan and across East Asia, many believe it represents an insufficient acknowledgment of wartime aggression and suffering. The differing interpretations are not just about history, but they also reflect identity, responsibility, and the messages conveyed by public acts of remembrance.

In this sense, Yasukuni Shrine remains a site where historical interpretation is inseparable from politics, continuing to shape how Japan’s wartime past is viewed both domestically and abroad.