Yasukuni Fundamentalism: Japanese Religions and the Politics of Restoration

Comparative Analysis of Church-State Relations in Poland and Japan

“…Because of its close relationship with the emperor families of Japan and the State Shinto movement in the Second World War, the status of the Yasukuni Shrine has always been very high in the Shinto community. It has become the core of the State Shinto [12]. After the Second World War, the Yasukuni Shrine was given the new job of memorizing the death in the war.…”

“…First, the Yasukuni Shrine enshrined multiple high-rank war criminals during the Second World War in 1959, and the number of glorified war criminals continuously rose in the next few years. It shows an attitude of the Japanese government that wants to legitimize the crimes of Imperial Japan by transforming the war criminals into deities, which is a rejection of the Tokyo War Crime Tribunal [12]. The other controversy is that it violates the Japanese Constitution of the separation of religion and the state where the Prime Ministers visited and sponsored a Shinto Shrine.…”

“…The Liberal Democratic Party also uses the Constitution to fight back and ensures the freedom of belief for the citizens. It defines the visit by the Prime Minister as a "Private action" instead of an official visit [12]. Also, the Liberal Democratic Party stated that their visit was not for religious purposes.…”

“…Also, the Liberal Democratic Party stated that their visit was not for religious purposes. Instead, they were doing it with the purpose of Humanism only for mourning the dead in the war [12]. Even though these statements were made, the government was still criticized by different groups in Japanese society and states like China and North and South Korea.…”

“…Many Scholars in Japan claim that the Prime Minister's official visit to the Yasukuni Shrine has the merit that the visit will enhance the National Defense [12]. It means that the visit is an action to remember and learn from the idea of the people who sacrificed in the war for the national interest.…”