Japan’s divisive Yasukuni Shrine picks former admiral as chief priest

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 shrine named Umio Otsuka, a former Maritime Self Defense Force (SDF) commander and one-time ambassador to Djibouti, as its new chief priest on Friday, marking the first time since 1978 that a former military official assumed the post.

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 2-era prime minister Hideki Tojo.

“I feel very honoured that the next stage of my life will be to serve this shrine for peace, where the spirits of those who gave their precious lives for the country are commemorated and honoured,” Otsuka said.

Yasukuni means “peaceful country” in Japanese.

Visits to the shrine by senior Japanese political figures have drawn criticism from countries such as South Korea, which was under Tokyo’s colonial rule for 35 years, and China, which Japan invaded.

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.

Otsuka’s appointment comes as Tokyo and Seoul deepen security co-operation with each other and their shared ally, the US, in response to escalating regional threats from China, Russia and North Korea.

No serving Japanese prime minister has visited the shrine since Abe Shinzo went in 2013, prompting an expression of disappointment by then-US President Barack Obama. 

Reuters