type:P(論文)

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo annually during his time as Prime Minister, a total of six times. Each visit resulted in protests by Japan's neighbors, specifically China and South Korea. Koizumi could not understand why there was such a conflict, and many conservatives in Japan lament that they cannot openly visit the shrine. Why is it that these visits are so controversial? There is a deeper history to these visits, rooted in the meaning of the Shrine itself, but most importantly in how the Japanese government has treated its war criminals vis-a-vis the shrine. This paper outlines four arguments why Japan's neighbors can be upset. First is the way Japan's War Dead are honored, or more specifically who is determined to be war dead and who is not. Second is the manner in which Japan's 28 Class A war criminals were decriminalized following the war, including the enshrinement of 14 of them as "Martyrs of the State." Third is the manner in which the Japanese Diet responded to each action of reconciliation in Japan with reciprocal conservative legislation. Finally, this paper argues that visits to the shrine, where all of these actions are manifested in real space, represent a tacit endorsement by the state of a revision of Japanese history and denial of the Tokyo Trials. Together, these four arguments outline some of the controversies surrounding the Yasukuni Shrine and the visits by Japan's head of government. Each of these areas are ripe for further research, and individually they also illustrate a mindset surrounding the shrine, and clearly demonstrate how complex the controversies surrounding the shrine are. This paper provides a clarification for why Japan's neighbors can find visits to the Yasukuni Shrine so controversial, and also illustrate why visits to the shrine are controversial within Japan itself. This understanding, it is hoped, will provide a solid foundation for future reconciliation between the Japanese government and its neighbors, specifically the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Korea. NOTE: This paper is an abstract of a longer thesis, submitted as part of the requirements for a Master of Arts in Public Administration at International Christian University submitted May 15, 2006. The thesis provides this same argument, but also outlines the history of the shrine, with a full explanation noting the shrines dual nature as a religious entity serving a state purpose as well as the controversy in Japan spawned by the Shinto Directive of 1945 and Article 20 of Japan's 1947 Constitution, especially the official or non-official nature of prime ministerial visits to the shrine. The thesis is available both in the ICU Library, and has also been published through dissertation.com (ISBN: 1581123345).