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Yasukuni Shrine

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol during the third session of the G20 Leaders’ Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 1. Photo: AFP

South Korea spurns Sado mines memorial amid lingering historical tensions

South Korea’s President Yoon had made improving relations with Japan a priority following years of disputes of the two countries’ history.

5 hours ago

Japan’s controversial Yasukuni Shrine vandalised with kanji for ‘death’

11 Nov 2024 - 10:28PMvideocam

Japan’s new PM Ishiba sends offering to Yasukuni war shrine

17 Oct 2024 - 4:47PM

My Take | Japan’s Ishiba to focus on security ties with South Korea to counter Pyongyang

Shigeru Ishiba’s ‘progressive’ views on thorny historical issues have raised hopes that ties between Japan and South Korea could improve.

11 Oct 2024 - 10:30AM

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (middle) oversees a launch of a ballistic missile at an undisclosed place in North Korea. The threat from North Korea is expected to be a key focus in Shigeru Ishiba’s engagement with Yoon Suk-yeol. Photo: AP

NHK under fire after ‘broadcast hijacking’ by Chinese reporter over Diaoyu Islands

A Chinese journalist working for NHK sparked controversy by claiming disputed islands in the East China Sea belong to China during a broadcast.

11 Sep 2024 - 7:19PM

‘Treasonous’: Japan NHK’s reporter says Diaoyu Islands belong to China

Critics accuse the broadcaster of undermining Japan’s territorial integrity and demanded accountability from its leadership.

21 Aug 2024 - 6:22PMvideocam

South Korea’s president shocks public after ‘outrageous’ Liberation Day speech

President Yoon Suk-yeol shocked South Koreans by omitting mention of Japan’s wartime atrocities from his Liberation Day speech.

20 Aug 2024 - 9:24AMvideocam

Japanese nationalists holding war flags of the Imperial Japanese Army visit Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine earlier this month. Photo: dpa

Japan’s controversial Yasukuni Shrine vandalised again with graffiti

Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, seen as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism, reported a second case of graffiti in three months.

19 Aug 2024 - 5:39PMvideocam

Who will replace Fumio Kishida as Japan’s PM? Take a look at the contenders

The current foreign minister says she’s in the running. A former heavy metal drummer and the son of an ex-PM are also in with a shot.

19 Aug 2024 - 2:17PM

Japan’s ministers visit Yasukuni shrine on World War II anniversary

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who plans to step down in September, stayed away, sending an offering instead. No serving Japanese prime minister has visited Yasukuni since Shinzo Abe in 2013.

15 Aug 2024 - 8:53PM

Japanese lawmakers visit Yasukuni shrine. Photo: Kyodo/via Reuters

Chinese man in Japan arrested over Yasukuni Shrine graffiti incident

Jiang Zhuojun, 29, was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly conspiring with two others to spray-paint the word “toilet” in English on a stone pillar at the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

9 Jul 2024 - 10:14PM

People pay respects to the war dead at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. A Chinese man was arrested on Tuesday for his alleged involvement in spray-painting graffiti on the shrine. Photo: AP

Chinese man spray-paints word ‘toilet’ and urinates on Tokyo shrine

5 Jun 2024 - 12:31PM

US$64,000 bounty offer for suspected Chinese graffiti vandal at Japan shrine

The video showing a Chinese man urinating and spray-painting ‘toilet’ on a shrine to Japan’s war dead so incensed a cosmetic surgeon that he’s offered a 10-million-yen reward for help bringing the suspect to justice.

5 Jun 2024 - 1:17PMvideocam

Japan police hunt man who spray painted ‘toilet’ on Yasukuni Shrine

In a video on Chinese social media, a man identifying himself as Iron Head said he would give the Japanese government ‘some colour to see’, before urinating on a stone pillar and spray-painting ‘toilet’ in English.

4 Jun 2024 - 12:36PMvideocam

A still from a video that circulated on Chinese social media shows an unidentified man next to the word “toilet” in red graffiti on a pillar at Tokyo’s Yasukuni. Photo: X/Ek_aike

‘Smart move’: why the rest of Asia could find a new security partner in Japan

Japan’s growing role as a security provider in Asia is necessary, with the US preoccupied with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, analysts say.

24 May 2024 - 11:44AMvideocam

The Philippines’ new military vessel, the BRP Melchora Aquino, arrives from Japan at the international port in Manila in 2022. Photo: AFP

Ex-commander picked as Yasukuni Shrine chief priest in move likely to irk China

Umio Otsuka’s appointment marks the first time since 1978 for a former military official to assume the post.

15 Mar 2024 - 11:58AMvideocam

As North Korea slams Japan troops’ shrine trip, Seoul and China stay silent

Pyongyang accused Tokyo of trying to revive its dream to ‘reinvade the Korean peninsula’ after SDF members visited the controversial temple.

20 Jan 2024 - 6:00PMvideocam

Opinion | 86 years after rape of Nanking, China should forge closer ties with Japan

Amicable relations and reduced tensions are good for both countries, Asia and the world. Critically, if China and Japan remain hostile, it will play into the hands of the US.

10 Dec 2023 - 7:33AMvideocam

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (left) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting in San Francisco, on November 16, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit. Photo: Kyodo

Why is Japan’s Yasukuni Shrine so controversial?

17 Oct 2023 - 4:20PM

Opinion | Fears over China, doubts about US driving Japan’s military build-up

Japan’s moves reflect decades-long efforts to be more self-reliant amid growing concerns over China’s rise and the reliability of the US as an ally. Given Japan’s past, though, ramping up its military spending risks sparking fears among its neighbours and ruining decades of building up soft power.

26 Jan 2023 - 2:06AMvideocam

Kishida sends offering to war-linked shrine, risking anger from Beijing, Seoul

Past visits to controversial Yasukuni Shrine by Japanese prime ministers have drawn harsh criticism from China and South Korea, who view it as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism.

17 Oct 2022 - 2:38PM

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday sent a ritual offering to the war-linked Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, a source of diplomatic friction with some of Japan’s Asian neighbors who view it as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism. Photo: AFP/File

Opinion | With China-Japan relations at a low, it is clear which side is to blame

Japan and China have arrived at the 50th anniversary of the normalisation of bilateral ties, but relations are strained. Given Japan’s stance on cross-strait issues and the Diaoyu Islands, and its long-standing failure to apologise for the Nanking massacre, it isn’t difficult to understand why.

29 Sep 2022 - 3:45PMvideocam

Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) is escorted by then Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe at the start of their talks in Osaka on June 27, 2019, ahead of the G20 summit. Photo: AFP

As I See It | Kimono row pulls at the thread of strained China-Japan relationship

Anti-Japanese sentiment in China, previously targeted towards wartime atrocities and historical issues, has recently been aimed at Japanese cultural symbols – from kimonos to Japanese lettering.

26 Aug 2022 - 8:30AM

South Korea, Japan must confront ‘common threats’ together: Yoon Suk-yeol

The South Korean president called for ties to ‘swiftly and properly improve’ as the ‘mission of our times align’. It came as Fumio Kishida sent an offering to a controversial shrine – and pledged that Japan would never again wage war.

15 Aug 2022 - 5:20PMvideocam

New Japan trade minister visits controversial Yasukuni war shrine

Yasutoshi Nishimura is the first minister known to have visited the shrine since Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government was inaugurated last October.

13 Aug 2022 - 12:49PMvideocam

People pray at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine. File photo: AFP

Nanjing punishes officials for temple honouring Japanese war criminals

Eastern Chinese city sacks Buddhist temple leader after viral social media photos show tablets dedicated to WWII military figures executed for war crimes.

25 Jul 2022 - 10:13AMvideocam

The leader of a Buddhist temple in Nanjing was dismissed after photos revealed memorial tablets in the temple were dedicated to Japanese war criminals. Photo: Weibo

China’s Xi conveys ‘deep regret’ over sudden death of Shinzo Abe

Abe worked hard to improve China-Japan relations,’ Xi Jinping says in message to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida following assassination of former leader.

9 Jul 2022 - 5:27PMvideocam

Beijing grapples with Abe’s mixed legacy on China-Japan relations

Abe is seen as working to improve relations during his two terms in office, but his recent comments on Taiwan had angered Beijing.

9 Jul 2022 - 7:13PMvideocam

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Yasukuni Shrine

Yasukuni Shrine, located in Tokyo, Japan, is dedicated to over 2,466,000 Japanese soldiers and servicemen who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan in the last 150 years. It also houses one of the few Japanese war museums dedicated to World War II.The shrine is at the center of an international controversy by honoring war criminals convicted by a post World War II court including 14 'Class A' war criminals. Japanese politicians, including prime ministers and cabinet members have paid visits to Yasukuni Shrine in recent years which caused criticism and protests from China, Korea, and Taiwan.

last updated:

9 September, 2024