Chinese netizens blast Abe
The move shows that Japanese right-wing politicians have yet to faithfully reflect on their country’s past war crimes
TOKYO, Japan (Global Times) — Shinzo Abe, who just stepped down as Japan’s Prime Minister last Wednesday, visited the Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday, triggering a flood of criticism on Chinese social media with some analysts asserting the visit could set a “very bad example,” shadowing the new Japanese government.
It harms the political mutual trust between China and Japan.
Abe said on his Twitter account that he visited the shrine to report his recent resignation from the post of Japanese prime minister to his ancestors.
Chinese netizens said the move shows that Japanese right-wing politicians have yet to faithfully reflect on their country’s past war crimes even as they try to be friendly towards its neighbors including China.
Other netizens noted that the visit is just a gesture by Abe to his ancestors, and Abe’s past efforts to promote China-Japanese ties and enhance bilateral exchanges should not be dismissed.
According to media reports, Abe only visited the shrine once as Japan’s prime minister in 2013.
Abe’s visit to Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday shows that some Japanese politicians try to curry favor with the nationalist elements in the country.
If there wasn’t the need to improve Japan’s relations with China and South Korea, Abe would have visited the shrine while he was in office this year, Da Zhigang, director and research fellow of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences and chief expert at the Northeast Asian Strategic Studies Institute, told the on Saturday.
Abe’s visit sets a bad example and is not less significant than if he were still in power, Da said. He has sent a negative signal to the new cabinet, the current Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, and the Japanese society.
A politician shouldn’t do things in one way when in office then put on another face after stepping down, Da said.
The visit occurred the same day former Japan Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is scheduled to visit the island of Taiwan and attend the memorial ceremony for former Taiwan leader Lee Teng-hui, who is considered by vast Chinese mainlanders as the “godfather of Taiwan separatism.”
Abe’s visit sets a bad example.
Mori’s visit to Taiwan might be out of a consideration of etiquette, but given the sensitive cross-Straits ties, it harms the political mutual trust between China and Japan.
The Taiwan question is essential to China and the Chinese people, and such a move will subtly affect China-Japan relations and the cross-Straits situation, Da said.