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Japanese Prime Minister Pays Homage to WW II War Criminals

Alex Constantine - January 12, 2014

Photo: Yasukuni shrine honors Japan's war dead, including 14 class-A WW II war criminals

"... Right-wing forces in Japan are trying to overturn the verdict of the Tokyo trial of the war criminals and challenge the world order after WWI. ..."

VIENNA, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- No European politicians dare to defy world opinion by prostrating themselves before Adolf Hitler and other war criminals, in sharp contrast to Japanese leaders' worship of a controversial war-linked shrine, the Chinese ambassador to Austria said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's year-end visit to the Yasukuni shrine, which honors Japan's war dead, including 14 class-A war criminals in World War II, seriously damaged the political basis of relations between Tokyo and its neighbors, Zhao Bin said in an article carried on Tuesday by the Austrian daily Wiener Zeitung.

He added that although nearly seven decades have passed since the end of WWII, Japan has constantly tore on the wounds of the victim countries.

"It is hard to imagine that politicians of Europe dared to worship Adolf Hitler and other war criminals today," Zhao said, noting that Germany's determination to bring all Nazi criminals to justice has not only enabled its reconciliation with the victim countries, but also opened the door for peace in Europe.

On the contrary, right-wing forces in Japan are trying to overturn the verdict of the Tokyo trial of the war criminals and challenge the world order after WWII, said the Chinese envoy.

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In a New Year message, Abe reaffirmed his resolve to revise the country's pacifist constitution written after Japan's defeat in WWII. By revising the war-renouncing constitution, Abe aims to lift the ban on the right to exercise collective self-defense, making it possible for Japan to wage war. Full story

[Video]Chinese ambassador: militarism is like "Voldemort of Japan"

NEW YORK – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent visit to war-linked Yasukuni Shrine has damaged Japan’s already strained ties with China and South Korea, who say his action shows that Tokyo remains unrepentant about its militarist past.

In an interview, Gerald Curtis, a veteran Japan scholar at Columbia University, described Japan’s ties with China and South Korea as “worrisome,” with the “history issue” an underlying factor.

He advised Japan to “take pride in admitting what you’re not proud of,” just like other countries that have re-evaluated their pasts, including the United States, where schools address uncomfortable truths about issues such as the treatment of Native Americans, the segregation era and the Vietnam War.

“This history issue, you can’t just say it doesn’t matter or there’s nothing Japan can do, Japan has to do something,” Curtis said.

Nearly 70 years after World War II, this question, he said, is “more controversial now than it ever has been in the postwar period” and there is now “all this anger directed against Japan.” ... Full story

[Video] U.S. "disappointed" at Japan for exacerbating regional tensions

S. Korean FM repeats condemnation of shrine visit in Japan

SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's top diplomat repeated his condemnation of Japanese politicians for their visit to the controversial war shrine, describing the visit as a big stumbling block to peace and cooperation in the region.

"As seen in the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, the history-revisionist attitude of Japan's political leadership brought isolation upon itself and served as a big stumbling block to peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia," Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said in his New Year's message on Thursday. Full story

Abe's shrine visit bombshell of disappointment for Japan, neighbours

BEIJING, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Four days after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, disappointment and condemnation over his reckless move are still mounting.

Singapore on Sunday expressed its regrets over Abe's visit, fearing that his act "is likely to evoke further negative feelings and reactions in the region." Full story

Commentary: Abe's shrine visit a flagrant denial of justice

BEIJING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo that honors Japan's war dead including convicted war criminals in World War II is but a flagrant denial of the just trials of Japanese warmongers guilty of crimes against humanity.

Abe on Thursday visited the war shrine, which has been seen as a symbol of Japan's past militarism as it enshrines 14 Class-A WWII war criminals.

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