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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has repeatedly hurt the feelings of people in neighboring countries in recent years by visiting the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.
Last Monday, the prime minister once again paid homage at the shrine that honors the souls of 14 Class-A war criminals from World War II, as well as 2.5 million common soldiers. This was his fifth pilgrimage to Yasukuni since he took office in April 2001.
On the afternoon of the day of his visit, Koizumi defended his actions by arguing personal belief should not be interfered with by others -- particularly foreign governments.
He previously expressed the view, on many occasions, that it is an inherent custom of the Japanese nation to pay respect to the dead and that no one is culpable after death, no matter what he or she did in life.
But this opinion is nothing more than an excuse used by the Japanese rightist conservative forces to resurrect the ghost of past militarism.
In fact, Japan is not the only country where people believe the dead are blameless. In China this view also prevails.
From a private perspective, the Chinese people, just like their neighbors, have always held that all crimes committed by a person are disregarded after death.
From a public perspective, there also exists a deep-rooted notion in Chinese culture of a person forever being held accountable for his or her crimes against his or her nation and people.
A typical example is Chinese people's attitude toward Qin Hui, prime minister of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) and well-known as a traitor.
After his death, a bronze statue of him was erected at the side of the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province as a target for passers-by to despise.
The Shinto shrine in Tokyo is by no means a private place. It has born a strong official significance from its establishment.
After World War II, the shrine became an independent religious site, but its influence as the spiritual pillar of Japanese militarism has not changed.
It is not acceptable to claim that Japanese government officials' visits to Yasukuni are all made in a private capacity. All of the Class-A war criminals honored at the shrine, such as Hideki Tojo, are closely linked to Japan's history of aggression in Asian nations.
The attitudes contemporary Japanese politicians hold towards the war criminals are certainly related to the feelings of neighboring nations that were the victims of invasion.
Yasukuni pilgrimages are not purely an internal affair with repercussions only within Japan's sphere of cultural sovereignty.
The feelings of the masses of people in neighboring China and South Korea toward slaughterers must be taken into account when Japanese politicians contemplate shrine visits
Thus it is completely unreasonable for Japanese politicians to resort to the cultural sovereignty argument and demand other countries respect their feelings and understand why they must pay homage at the Yasukuni Shrine.
After experiencing the formation of nation-states in the first half of the 20th century, East Asian countries are currently entering a new era during which economic integration is prevailing over the traditional concept of sovereignty. But whether or not this general trend will march forwards will be decided by the countries themselves.
All members of the region should respect each other's culture, economic structure and political system. But at the same time, none should stick excessively to its so-called "rights and interests," if they lead to a breach of the political, economic or cultural interests of another country.
In the 21st century, China and other East Asian nations have been increasingly interlinked economically. Each country should be fully aware of its multi-dimensional dealings with other East Asian nations. Each country should also be on high alert against any move by the Japanese government to call back the ghost of rightist forces and remember clearly the complex historical background.
Japanese politicians should try to find the correct solution to this thorny matter after fully appreciating other nations' sentiments.
Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung once suggested that Japanese officials pay visits to memorials that do not honor war criminals. The proposal received a positive response from some Japanese politicians, such as former chief cabinet secretary, Yasuo Fukuda.
If the Japanese government handles the Yasukuni Shrine conflict in an acceptable way, the country may possibly become a good neighbor to surrounding nations.
(China Daily October 24, 2005)
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