Japan PM sends offering to Yasukuni Shrine
SCMP · 6 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent a ritual offering to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Saturday as the shrine’s three-day autumn festival began. Reports said she was unlikely to make an in-person visit during the festival, continuing a pattern since taking office of avoiding a direct appearance while still making symbolic gestures tied to the shrine.
Key Points
- Takaichi sent a potted plant offering known as a “masakaki” under her title as prime minister at the start of the autumn festival on October 17.
- Yasukuni Shrine is in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward and honors 14 convicted Class-A war criminals alongside millions of Japanese war dead.
- A source close to Takaichi said she was unlikely to visit during the three-day festival, despite regularly visiting before becoming prime minister.
- Takaichi became prime minister on October 21 last year and has refrained from visiting the shrine in person since taking office.
- The last sitting Japanese prime minister to visit Yasukuni was Shinzo Abe in December 2013, according to the South China Morning Post
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers, the episode matters because Yasukuni remains closely tied to historical memory of Japan’s wartime aggression in China and on the Korean peninsula, making even symbolic acts politically sensitive across East Asia. It also comes as tensions between Tokyo and Beijing continue, adding another point of friction in a relationship that affects regional security and diplomacy