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6 unusual facts about Yasukuni Shrine


2006 in Japan

July 20 - A memorandum from an Imperial Household Agency official is published in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun showing that Emperor Hirohito refused to visit Yasukuni Shrine after Class A war criminals were added to its rolls.

Japanese general election, 2005

Moreover, the relationship between Japan and China deteriorated in early 2005, when Koizumi and other conservative Japanese politicians angered China through their visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, amongst other actions.

He also pledged that he would not visit Yasukuni Shrine; this could noticeably improve foreign relations with South Korea and China.

National Memorial Service for War Dead

In the following year the service was held at Yasukuni Shrine, and in 1965 it was moved to the Budokan where it is still held today.

Panzer I

Some Chinese Panzer Is were captured by the Japanese and were displayed at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

Rebiya Kadeer

In May 2012, while in Tokyo for a conference engagement, Kadeer visited the Yasukuni Shrine, which is controversial because it is where Japanese war criminals are honored.


Tomomi Inada

She stands for the government in relation to the lawsuit relating to Yasukuni Shrine, and serves as an attorney for the plaintiff concerning the "Contest to kill 100 people using a sword" that allegedly occurred during the Second Sino-Japanese War, as well as the commanders who fought in the Battle of Okinawa and a bereaved family suing Kenzaburō Ōe and Iwanami Shoten for their defamation of character towards the commanders.


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