Just hours after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sat down for his first substantial talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), three of his Cabinet ministers yesterday visited the war shrine that Beijing sees as a symbol of Tokyo’s violent past.
Visits by the three have the potential to muddy diplomatic waters that were starting to clear after their nationalist boss sat down with the Chinese president on the sidelines of a regional summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.
“I offered my sincere appreciation for the people who fought and sacrificed their precious lives for the sake of the country,” Japanese National Public Safety Commission Minister Eriko Yamatani told reporters after her pilgrimage.
Photo: AFP
“I pledged efforts for building a peaceful country,” said the minister, known for her strident nationalistic views.
She was followed over the next few hours by Haruko Arimura, state minister in charge of female empowerment, and Japanese Internal Affairs and Communication Minister Sanae Takaichi.
More than 100 Japanese lawmakers went to the shrine on Wednesday to coincide with its spring festival, even as officials were making final arrangements for the Xi-Abe meet.
Abe had asked his ministers not to visit before the talks happened, according to Jiji Press.
Xi and Abe held discussions in Jakarta for about 30 minutes, their first lengthy pow-wow since both men came to the helm of nations that are bitterly at odds over history and current territorial disputes.
Abe later told reporters that they had a “very meaningful summit meeting” and bilateral relations were improving.
In Tokyo yesterday, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, speaking after Yamatani’s pilgrimage, said it should have no bearing on warming China ties.
“I don’t think there will be [any impact]. The visit was made in a personal capacity,” Suga said.
Masaru Ikei, professor emeritus at Keio University and an expert on Japanese diplomatic history, said shrine visits like this were somewhat inevitable, but unlikely to be a disaster.
Taiwan expressed regret yesterday over the visit to the shrine.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Anna Kao (高安) said the government regrets the visit by more than 100 Japanese lawmakers to the shrine a day earlier.
The shrine honors Imperial Japan’s war dead, including 30,304 Taiwanese. It is seen by many as a symbol of Japan’s wartime militarism.
Noting that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Kao said the government urged Japanese politicians to look squarely at historical facts and reflect deeply upon themselves.
Kao called on Japan to refrain from actions that could hurt the feelings of the people in neighboring countries, and to develop friendly relations with other countries to promote regional peace and stability.
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