Japan Shrine Visit Stirs Ghosts of War in China

China and the United States were both right to condemn Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s official visit to the Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo on Dec. 26, 2013. For once China and America are on the same page. China’s leaders will waste no time, however, in exploiting the incident to stir up anti-Japanese nationalism at home and bolster their aggressive actions in the East China Sea. Abe’s irresponsible act will also anger other U.S. allies in the region which suffered Japanese atrocities during World War II, and on which U.S. hopes for a strong Pacific alliance depend.

The Yasukuni shrine honors more than two million Japanese war dead including Japanese officers convicted and executed for war crimes. Among those honored at the shrine are Japanese officers convicted and executed for their participation in the Nanjing Massacre in 1937, in which as many as 300,000 Chinese were killed. In addition to mass killings of innocent civilians, Japanese atrocities during the war included torture, rape, and sex slavery on a massive scale. Unlike Germany, Japan has never acknowledged its war crimes committed between 1931 and 1945. Japanese nationalists claim that reported war crimes have been exaggerated or never happened at all, rubbing salt in the wounds for Asian nations, war victims, and their descendants. Now, Prime Minister Abe has made a high-profile visit to a shrine honoring those who committed the atrocities.

China and other Asia-Pacific nations that suffered under Japanese occupation and war crimes during World War II deserve an apology from Japan, not a finger in the eye from the Japanese prime minister. China’s rulers today, however, cynically exploit the tragedies of seventy years ago for their own purposes even on completely unrelated issues, ratcheting up nationalism at home to bolster their continued rule and their aggressive acts against China’s neighbors. Abe’s visit to the Yasukuni shrine is a gift to Chinese government propagandists, and a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the foot for Japan. For once, at least, the United States will be spared Beijing’s rage.

“The United States is disappointed that Japan’s leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan’s neighbors,” said the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo as the apparent adult in the room, “The United States hopes that both Japan and its neighbors will find constructive ways to deal with sensitive issues from the past, to improve their relations, and to promote cooperation in advancing our shared goals of regional peace and stability.” China, for its part, has acknowledged U.S. disapproval of Abe’s actions.

Other Asia-Pacific nations that suffered under Japanese occupation in World War II are certain also to be angered by Abe’s visit to the shrine, including important U.S. allies such as South Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The visit comes as an unfortunate follow-up to Abe’s highly successful recent diplomatic efforts with Southeast Asian nations. South Korea’s culture minister has already condemned Abe’s visit to the shrine, which he said “glorifies Japan’s history of militaristic aggression and colonial rule.” This will not be helpful to U.S. efforts at counterbalancing Chinese power in the region, which depend on a strong Asia-Pacific alliance including Japan.