Abe shrine fury
Friday, December 27, 2013

Nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid an inflammatory visit to the Yasukuni war shrine yesterday, angering China which accused Japan of whitewashing a history of warmongering and warning it must "bear the consequences."

South Korea also blasted the "anachronistic" move, while the United States - Tokyo's chief ally - declared itself disappointed with an act that it said would worsen tensions with Japan's neighbors.

Beijing summoned Tokyo's ambassador and delivered a "strong protest and severe reprimand," the foreign ministry said.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the shrine visit was "a flagrant provocation against international justice and treads arbitrarily on humanity's conscience."

Foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said earlier: "The essence of Japanese leaders' visits to the Yasukuni shrine is to beautify Japan's history of militaristic aggression and colonial rule."

Abe described his visit - which came days after he gave Japan's military its second consecutive annual budget bump - as a pledge against war and said it was not aimed at hurting feelings in China or South Korea.

The Yasukuni shrine is believed to be the repository of around 2.5 million souls of Japan's war dead, most of them common soldiers, but also including several high-level officials executed for war crimes after World War II.

South Korea and China see it as a symbol of Tokyo's lack of repentance for the horrors of last century and say it downplays the country's brutal past.

But Abe said in a statement: "Some people criticize the visit to Yasukuni as paying homage to war criminals, but the purpose of my visit today [is] to renew the pledge that Japan must never wage a war again.

"It is not my intention at all to hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people.

"It is my wish to respect each other's character, protect freedom and democracy, and build friendship with China and Korea with respect."

The foreign ministry in Tokyo said it wanted to stress Abe "visited Yasukuni shrine in a purely personal capacity [and] not to pay homage to war criminals."

But China and South Korea, both victims of Japan's 20th century aggression, say no such distinction exists.

"The visit is anachronistic behavior that fundamentally damages not only relations between the South and Japan but also stability and cooperation in Northeast Asia," Seoul's Culture Minister Yoo Jin-Ryong said.

Washington must tread a careful line between supporting its chief regional ally in the face of China's rise, and emboldening a prime minister many observers see as a hot-headed troublemaker.

It offered qualified criticism.

"Japan is a valued ally and frie

nd," Washington said in a statement.

"Nevertheless, the United States is disappointed that Japan's leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan's neighbors."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE