Yasukuni Shrine Controversy
The Yasukuni Shrine has been a source of antiwar sentiment in East Asia because of its association with the Shinto bushido warrior code. Yasukuni has been visited routinely by members of the royal family, but civil politicians have been criticized for visiting the shrine because the remains of Japanese soldiers convicted of war crimes are placed there. Controversy began in 1978 when the remains of General Tojo Hideki were brought to Yasukuni thirty years after he was executed. The placement of his remains there deified him.
Prime Minister Fukuda Takeo was the first prime minister to visit Yasukuni since 1945. In 1985, Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro made an official visit to the shrine.
Japan's Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that using public funds for ritual offerings violated the constitution. Nevertheless, annual visits by politicians on the anniversary of the end of the war (August 15) continue to be a point of contention with Japan's neighbors. In 1997, the Japanese prime minister chose not to attend Yasukuni prior to visiting China. Three years later, however, China cancelled a scheduled visit of Japan's Transportation Minister, who was to have presented his bid for Japanese construction of a high-speed rail line in China, two days after he had visited Yasukuni.
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