GOVERNMENT VISITS TO YASUKUNI-JINJA
In 1978, Chief Cabinet Secretary Abe Shintaro of the Fukuda Takeo Cabinet declared that a prime minister was free to visit shrines and temples as a private citizen. However, the Prime Minister was still allowed to use a government car in case of emergency and was allowed to have other government officials accompany him. Prime Ministers Ohira Masayoshi, Suzuki Zenko and Nakasone Yasuhiro all continued to visit Yasukuni-jinja using these guidelines after the revelation that 14 class A war criminals were enshrined there.
In 1980, Chief Cabinet Secretary Miyazawa Kiichi of the Suzuki Cabinet said the government could not dispel doubts about the possibility of violating the Constitution by official visits since the law does require a separation of church and state.
In 1985 Prime Minister Nakasone declared his visit to Yasukuni-jinja “official” and used public funds to donate to the shrine but did not perform the Shinto ceremony in which a person must purify himself by offering a sprig of the sacred sasaki tree, bow twice, clap hands twice and bow again.(18)
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Since his first visit in August of 2001 the current Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro has visited Yasukuni-jinja on a yearly basis. However, on September 30th 2005 the Osaka High Court ruled that Koizumi’s visits were unconstitutional. Koizumi himself claims to have visited Yasukuni “as a private citizen, and as prime minister, but not in a public capacity." Politicians and experts say Mr. Koizumi goes mainly to prove his patriotic credentials to conservative members of his governing Liberal Democratic Party, unfortunately by leaving his visits vague by not declaring them unofficial or official the court claims that the visits “were a public act and therefore violated the Constitution's separation of religion and state.” (11)
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION
War veterans and right wing politicians support Koizumi’s visits to the shrine as being both respectful of those who sacrificed themselves for Japan and as a way of asserting to the rest of the world that Japan is an independent nation with a proud history.
In contrast, radical student groups and left wing politicians view Koizumi’s visits as a symbol of Japanese militarism and desire to create conflict amongst nations harmed by Japanese brutality such as China, the US and Korea.
Prime Minister visits to YasukuniPOSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
There has been great discussion about how to handle the issue of Yasukuni-jinja and its place in Japanese society. There have been suggestions for moving the 14 Class-A war criminals out of the shrine to a secular memorial, however the Shinto priests claim this is not possible without violating Shinto doctrine.
The government would be in violation of Article 20 of the Constitution, which stipulates the separation of religion and state, if it forces Yasukuni Shrine as a religious corporation to enshrine the Class-A criminals separately. Proponents for separate enshrinement still exist within the ruling parties, claiming that such action could be taken once the plan has been discussed and approved by the shrine and relevant family members of those enshrined.(18)