Imperial Visits:

The Meiji Emperor was the first one to pay an Imperial visit to the shrine. Since his visit, Imperial visits or visits of Imperial Emissaries have become a part of the annual festival traditions.The shrine was visited by Emperor Hiroshito (the Showa Emperor) in 1952.Emperor Akihito (the current Emperor) has never visited the shrine himself.

Visits of Prime Ministers:

Japanese lawmakers follow a Shinto priest (R), as they walk into Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni Shrine for the Spring Festival, 22 April 2005.

Several cabinet ministers visit the controversial shrine every year but the first Prime Minister to visit the shrine was Takeo Miki in 1975. His visit was in unofficial capacity and didn't provoke conflict because the souls of the Class A war criminals were not yet enshrined in Yasukuni.The first Prime Minister to visit the shrine after the kami of the 14 Class A was criminal were enshrined was Yasuhiro Nakasone in 1979. His visit was the only one paid in official capacity. It, therefore, provoked opposition. Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto paid what he said was a "private visit" to Yasukuni in 1996.The current Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has so far paid five visits to Yasukini in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Although he claims that he goes to Yasukuni to "pray for peace, and that Japan should never go to war again", both international and domestic tension have been escalating and provoking firm opposition, as Koizumi's visits of Yasukuni are viewed both as a violation of the principle of separation of church and state, and as "an attempt to legitimize Japan's past militarism".

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