Paying Homage to War Criminals Warrants Condemnation

On December 26， 2013， Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine， where 14 Class-A World War II war criminals， including Hideki Tojo， who was prime minister of Japan for most of the war， are enshrined. These statesmen and military officers were responsible for maintaining a 14-year-long period of aggression towards China， for the Nanjing Massacre， for the sexual abuse of socalled “comfort women” in East and Southeast Asia， and for the attack on Pearl Harbor that provoked the Pacific War. Convicted of war crimes in 1946 at the International Military Tribunal for crimes against humanity， they are nevertheless honored as “martyrs” and their memories are preserved at the Yasukuni Shrine. Abe preached “aggression undetermined” during his visit， and paid homage in his capacity as prime minister – an act that is essentially a tribute to these war criminals. His speech and actions undoubtedly caused great offense to the governments and people of countries such as China and Korea， where many war crimes took place.

Four days after the visit， Cheng Yonghua， Chinese Ambassador to Japan， wrote an article for the Mainichi Shimbun， one of Japans major newspapers， criticizing Abe. On January 13， 2014， other Chinese diplomats published dozens of signed articles and gave interviews in such countries as Britain， the U.S.， Canada and Russia， condemning Abes actions. The territorial dispute between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands has， after several confrontations， led to both sides resorting to public discourse in their respective efforts to win international sanction.

On the first day of 2014， Liu Xiaoming， Chinese Ambassador to Britain， wrote an article that appeared in the U.K.s Daily Telegraph. In it， Liu likens Japan to Voldemort， the villain in J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter books： “… the dark wizard Voldemort dies hard because the seven horcruxes， which contain parts of his soul， have been destroyed. If militarism is like the haunting Voldemort of Japan， the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo is a kind of horcrux， representing the darkest parts of that nations soul.….Visits to the shrine by Japanese leaders cannot simply be an internal affair for Japan， or a personal matter for any Japanese official. Nor does it concern only China-Japan and Korea-Japan relations，” Liu Xiaoming wrote. In his view， at the core of the matter is whether or not the Japanese leader has a correct understanding of， or has deeply reflected on， his countrys foreign aggression and history of colonial rule， and whether or not Japan observes the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and upholds peace. This is a serious issue of morality and the dichotomies of aggression and non-aggression， good and evil.

In a BBC interview on January 8， Liu Xiaoming underlined the gravity of Abes actions， saying that the matter at hand was how the Japanese face up to their “disgraceful record of aggression.” He quoted Winston Churchills words， “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it，” so expressing concerns for the future.

The next day， Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai implied in an article he had published in The Washington Post that Abes visit to the Yasukuni Shrine was a “dangerous tribute.” He said， “The dispute surrounding his [Abes] actions is about more than symbolism； it goes to the heart of his intentions for Japans future and his willingness to build an atmosphere of trust， respect and equality in East Asia.”

Japans denial of its history of aggression and militaristic revival threatens to drag the rest of the world into a quagmire of conflict. China openly objects to the Japanese leaders paying homage at the Yasukuni Shrine， so making clear to the world that it will not passively stand by while Japan honors internationally convicted war criminals. Moreover， China， along with international society， intends to oppose and condemn Japans attempt to negate the outcome of World War II and challenge the postwar international order， and will jointly defend the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in efforts to maintain regional stability and world peace.