Suing for Souls
The nettlesome question of whether Japanese leaders should visit the Yasukuni shrine (where several war criminals are interred) will not disappear. China and Korea see the visits as evidence that Japan hasn't forsaken its imperial past. It's a hot issue in the upcoming Japanese leadership race, and Koizumi has just added fuel to the fire by defending his visits. ...
The nettlesome question of whether Japanese leaders should visit the Yasukuni shrine (where several war criminals are interred) will not disappear. China and Korea see the visits as evidence that Japan hasn't forsaken its imperial past. It's a hot issue in the upcoming Japanese leadership race, and Koizumi has just added fuel to the fire by defending his visits.
The nettlesome question of whether Japanese leaders should visit the Yasukuni shrine (where several war criminals are interred) will not disappear. China and Korea see the visits as evidence that Japan hasn't forsaken its imperial past. It's a hot issue in the upcoming Japanese leadership race, and Koizumi has just added fuel to the fire by defending his visits.
Now, there's an interesting twist. A group of Taiwanese with relatives enshrined at the cemetery—their relatives were apparently dragooned into the Japanese military—are suing for their souls to be released.
Their souls were interred at Yasukuni Shrine without our consent. We believe this is a violation of our rights as bereaved families," one of the relatives said."
The suit was initially filed against the government, but a Tokyo court ruled that the shrine itself was the proper defendant.
David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist
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