TOKYO — Japan's Yasukuni Shrine has picked a former military commander as its chief priest in a move that could stir controversy over a site that other Asian nations see as a symbol of Japan's wartime aggression.
People dressed in Japanese imperial military uniform and carrying Japan's Rising Sun flag visit the Yasukuni Shrine on the 78th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War Two in Tokyo, Japan, Aug 15, 2023.TOKYO — Japan's Yasukuni Shrine has picked a former military commander as its chief priest in a move that could stir controversy over a site that other Asian nations see as a symbol of Japan's wartime aggression.
The last retired military officer appointed as chief priest, Nagayoshi Matsudaira, enshrined 14 prominent convicted war criminals alongside the 2.5 million war dead honoured at the shrine, including World War Two-era prime minister Hideki Tojo. A spokesperson for Yasukuni Shrine, whose name means "peaceful country" in Japanese, declined to confirm his appointment.
Conservatives assert that Yasukuni, which was established in 1869 as Japan emerged from more than 250 years of isolation, is meant to commemorate all the nation's war dead and is not a shrine dedicated to those blamed for waging war on Japan's neighbours.