Flash Comment丨Beware of high market tricks: On the surface, you say "inherit the position", but in fact, you are summoning the souls of war criminals
On October 17, Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae, in the name of "Cabinet Prime Minister", offered an offering called "Masakaki" to the Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrines World War II Class-A war criminals. Many politicians, including Japanese House of Representatives Speaker Mori Eisuke and Senate Speaker Shoichi Sekiguchi, also followed this move. This is the fourth time this year that Takaichi Sanae has offered sacrifices or sacrificial fees to this war criminal shrine.
In addition, Japan’s Minister of Economic and Fiscal Policy Minoru Castle visited the Yasukuni Shrine on the morning of the 17th. This is the first Takaashi cabinet member revealed to have visited the Yasukuni Shrine during this autumn festival.
Japan's Kyodo News reported that Sanae Takaichi visited the Yasukuni Shrine many times during his previous tenure as a cabinet minister. On August 15 this year, she also performed a "distant worship" in the direction of the Yasukuni Shrine.
The Yasukuni Shrine is located in Chiyoda District, Tokyo. The shrine enshrines 14 World War II Class-A war criminals, including Tojo Hideki. Some Japanese scholars have criticized the Yasukuni Shrine as an "invasion shrine" and a hotbed of militaristic ideas.
Meng Xiaoxu, a researcher at the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an exclusive interview with the "Flash Commentary" column of China Global News that Japan frequently offers sacrifices to the Yasukuni Shrine in the official name of the Prime Minister, releasing multiple danger signals.
First, it shows that Japan has elevated the worship of the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Class-A war criminals, to the national level. In fact, it is endorsing the history of World War II aggression at the national level and packaging the aggressive war criminals as "sacrifice for the country."
Second, Takaichi Sanae's choice to offer sacrifices instead of going to the site to worship was actually a deliberate "diplomatic rhetoric" intended to reduce direct diplomatic conflicts. However, through continuous high-frequency operations, it repeatedly tested the bottom line of victimized countries such as China and South Korea, as well as the international community.
Third, Takaichi’s behavior is actually mobilizing right-wing voters internally to strengthen the conservative camp, continue to instill historical revisionist narratives in Japanese society, and create a domestic public opinion atmosphere for subsequent military expansion and constitutional amendments.
Meng Xiaoxu analyzed that a series of actions by Takaichi and other Japanese right-wing politicians to visit or worship the Yasukuni Shrine are highly tied to Japan’s accelerated remilitarization and push for constitutional amendments.
Article 9 of Japan’s “Peace Constitution” is the core shackle that restrains Japan’s military expansion. If you want to amend the constitution, include the Self-Defense Forces in the constitution, and develop the "capability to attack enemy bases," you must first reshape the Japanese people's historical understanding. By continuing to offer sacrifices to the Yasukuni Shrine, Takaichi is dispelling the postwar anti-war consensus, weakening the legitimacy of the "peace constitution", and paving the way for remilitarization.
In sharp contrast to Japan's right-wing forces who have long denied the war of aggression and deliberately obscured historical crimes, on August 15, 1995, then Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama issued the "Murayama Statement" in the form of a cabinet resolution, admitting that Japan had implemented wrong national policies in the past and followed the path of war. It clearly pointed out that Japan's "colonial rule and aggression have brought great damage and pain to many countries, especially the people of Asian countries", and expressed "deep reflection and heartfelt apology."
The "Murayama Talk" has been widely recognized by the international community, but is resented by a group of right-wingers such as Takaichi. Before becoming prime minister, Takaichi Sanae had always been critical of the "Murayama Talk" and even defined it as "full of masochistic views of history."
According to Japan's "Asahi Shimbun" report, Takaichi Sanae said when asked about relevant issues at the Senate Budget Committee on October 16 that the positions of previous cabinets will remain unchanged. "Village talk" is naturally included.
In this regard, Meng Xiaoxu believes that Takaichi Sanae's so-called "inheriting the 'Murayama Talk'" is also a word game, rather than a true reflection on history.
The core of the "Murayama Statement" is to admit that Japan launched an aggressive war in the past and had colonial rule, and to express remorse and apology. However, Sanae Takaichi has always criticized the "Murayama Talk" as a "masochistic view of history" in the past. The "inheritance" she talks about is just a shell, but it excludes the core connotations of "reflection on aggression" and "acceptance of war crimes".
The intention behind such word games is to use the so-called "inheriting the 'Murayama Talk'" rhetoric in international diplomatic situations to deal with the pressure of international public opinion. In actual actions, it continues to promote historical revisionism and revive the souls of war criminals. This double-faced approach is intended to allow Japan to expand its military and amend its constitution in the name of a so-called "normal country" without assuming responsibility for its historical crimes.
Therefore, the international community must be more vigilant and judge Japan's historical stance by looking at its actual actions.
