Clued-in | Yasukuni and the return of Japan's ghost of militarism

August 15 marks the day Japan announced its unconditional surrender in World War II. This should be a day for Japan to reflect on the crimes of its war of aggression, mourn innocent victims, and renew its commitment to peace. Instead, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi once again sent a "tamagushi" ritual offering to the Yasukuni war shrine. Four sitting cabinet members, namely Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs Hitoshi Kikawada, Economic Security Minister Kimi Onoda, and Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Minoru Kiuchi visited the shrine in person. They were joined by senior Liberal Democratic Party figures, among them the party's secretary-general, General Council chair and Election Strategy Committee chair, as well as some 90 lawmakers from the cross-party group that promotes collective visits to the shrine.

This annual charade at the Yasukuni war shrine is yet another blatant provocation to the victory of World War II and the postwar international order, and a stark sign of the resurfacing ghost of militarism. The right wing believes that this clever arrangement, under which the prime minister sends an offering while lawmakers visit in groups, can spare Tokyo the diplomatic fallout of a personal visit by the prime minister while also shoring up its domestic support. These are classic salami tactics, testing the red line of the international community while steadily blurring the world's understanding of Japan's history of aggression. But repetition cannot turn a lie into truth, nor can whitewashing change the hard facts. The Yasukuni war shrine is anything but an ordinary religious site. It is a spiritual instrument and symbol of Japanese militarism's war of aggression, which still enshrines 14 Class-A war criminals, including Tojo Hideki. The shrine's Yushukan Museum has long peddled a distorted view of history, glorifying Japan's war of aggression as a "holy war to liberate Asia" and war criminals as "heroic spirits who died for the nation." Such acts not only violate the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter and trample on international justice, the postwar international order and the international legal system, but also offend the shared conscience of humanity, hurting the feelings of people in every country who suffered during World War II.

Even more alarming is that a distorted, militarist view of history has always been a precursor to military adventurism. Behind the homage at Yasukuni lies a deeper scheme, which is to whitewash the war of aggression, accelerate remilitarization, and break free from the constraints of the postwar system. Apart from honoring war criminals at the shrine, Japan is speeding up the revision of its three key security documents. Its military budget keeps hitting record highs. It is opening the Pandora's box of lethal weapons exports, deploying long-range offensive missiles, and openly discussing nuclear armament. Shinjiro Koizumi's case is especially telling. Since taking office as defense minister, he has been pushing for a rapid military buildup and even argued that nuclear issues should be discussed "without any taboos" and that "no option is off the table." These moves send a dangerous message that Japan's right wing is subverting pacifism and accelerating remilitarization. Japan is gradually tearing off its disguise as a "peaceful nation" and hurtling toward a military power "capable of waging war."

Eighty-one years ago, Japan accepted the Potsdam Proclamation and announced its unconditional surrender, pledging to the whole world that it would "never wage war again." Eighty-one years later, Japan's right wing keeps returning to Yasukuni war shrine to whitewash and revive militarism. Eighty years ago, the Tokyo Trial convicted Japan of its war of aggression with irrefutable evidence, laying the legal foundation of the postwar international order. Eighty years later, Japan's right wing shows no remorse, willfully distorting history and testing the limits of international law and the conscience of humanity.

Remembering history and cherishing peace is a precious lesson from the agony of war, and a basic moral code that a defeated nation must live by. Japanese militarism claimed countless innocent lives in Japan's war of aggression. Yet the Japanese government has never erected a monument, held a memorial, or observed a moment of silence for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, for the "comfort women," or for those subjected to the human experiments of Unit 731.

How can a country that dares not face its own history of aggression win the trust of the international community? How can a country that keeps paying tribute to war criminals call itself a "peaceful nation"? It is high time for Japan's right wing to end its obstinate, regressive acts, or it will only end up burying the country's future.

The author is an international affairs observer.