Shrine Opposition

In April of 1997, the Supreme Court of Japan formally banned all government donations to Yasukuni Shrine. Defendants of donations to the Shrine argued that "donations offered moral support to bereaved families and were a form of social courtesy rather than official support of religion. The Supreme Court did not agree with them as they voted 13 to 2 that donations to the Shrine were a clear violation of the Constitution. The many various groups that opposed the Shrine were glad with the courts decision but the controversy has not been quelled.


The Union of New Religions

One of the groups leading the opposition to the Shrine is the Union of New Religions. According to Helen Hardacre, one of the most effective ways that this group has shown its opposition to the Shrine is by witholding funds from political candidates who are in favor of State support for Yasukuni.The Union of New Religions is a very wealthy group and because of that they are one of the most powerful opponents to Yasukuni Shrine.


The Sokka Gakkai And The Komeito

Another group that opposes the Shrine is the Sokka Gakkai and its political party known as the Komeito. Their main reason for opposing the Shrine is that they beleive it is a symbol of the "old Japan". The Komeito claim that before World War II the government brutalized and oppressed them. They argue that by supporting the Shrine, government officials are slowly returning Japan back to pre-war methods and ideals. They argue that if State support for Yasukuni is legalized it would be a great blow to the civil liberties of the Japanese people, especially religious freedom. The Komeito beleive that by supporting Yasukuni the government is supporting the Shinto religion.


Legal Opposition

Legal opinion has been on the side of the opposition when it comes to whether or not State support of the Shrine would be a violation of the Constitution. In 1980 the Legal Bureau of the Lower House of the Diet conducted a formal inquiry into the legality of State donations to Yasukuni Shrine. They found that State donations were definitely a violation of Article Twenty of the Constitution. Despite the legal decisions, there are still people who believe that Yasukuni is not a religious symbol. Among these people are Haruko Taya Cook and Theodore F. Cook, co-authors of Japan at War: An Oral History. They make the argument that Yasukuni is no longer a symbol of religion but more a symbol of respect and reverence for the dead. They claim that their proof is in the fact that Buddhist and Christian families come to visit this Shrine and honor their fallen family members just as those who follow Shinto do.This is a compelling argument but for now the courts remain convinced that support of Yasukuni would be supporting Shinto and Shinto alone, and that is unconstitutional.


Foreign Opposition

The foreign opposition to Japanese State support of Yasukuni has been enormous. The foreign opposition has mostly come from other nations in Asia, mainly China and Korea, and from non-Japanese living in Japan, whether they were born there or have moved there. Again the main non-Japanese opposition from inside the country has come from those of Chinese or Korean descent. These two countries have good reasons for opposing any sign of growing Japanese militarism, or any sign of supporting the atrocities committed by Japan during World War II>

China is particularly sensitive because of what they call "the rape of Nanking." The exact amount of deaths caused by Japanese soldiers during the 1930's is not quite clear. But it is suffice to say that tens of thousands of Chinese died at the hands of the Japanese invaders. For this reason, China is very upset that Japan not only will not acknowledge and apologize for these atrocities to the satisfaction of the Chinese, but is also celebrating the valor of those men who died during the war. The Chinese view the men in Yasukuni as monsters and criminals, not heroes. The Korean objectinon is largely derived from the so-called "comfort women" that Japan used in World War II. The Japanese government took many women from Korea and other nations and used them as sex slaves for the Japanese army. The Koreans, like the Chinese, are still waiting for an appropriate apology.

There are also some fears in China and Korea taht an upsurge in support for Yasukuni is a sign of growing military sentiment. They fear that Japan may once again be using the Shrine as a rallying point for nationalism, which could lead to a dangerous increase in military thought. The Chinese and Koreans fear this could mean Japan going back to its old ways, and the possibility that the Japanese could try to repeat the atrocities that they committed during World War II.


War Veteran Opposition

Some World War II veterans are also against support of Yasukuni Shrine. We have already seen that some of the veterans want to support their fallen comrades. There are however, a group of veterans who, in the words of Takemitsu Ogawa, head of a pacifist group of war victims families, "strongly protest this official visit by Prime Minister Shimoto which glorifies war and praises war dead as heroic spirits." This group feels that their family members died for a cause that was in no way noble. They believe that they died fighting for a man (Minister Tojo) who was ruling like a dictator with no regard for the opinion of the people.

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