Shrine Supporters

There are several significant groups that support Yasukuni Shrine. Among them are the Liberal Democratic Party, the World War II veterans, their familes, The Bereaved Society of Japan, and Japanese ultra-nationalists. Although these groups do publicly support the Shrine, the main opposition has come when the various Prime Ministers have visited the Shrine in their official capacity.

What Constitutes an Official Visit?

The Bereaved Society of Japan

The Bereaved Society of Japan made the first move towards establishing legal State support for the Shrine. They began this push for support in the early 1950's. Their argument was that support for the Shrine was needed to heal the wounded nation. They believed that non-support was a sign of ungratefulness by the Japanese government towards the soldiers who had died fighting for the country. Most of the members of the Bereaved Society of Japan are direct descendants of men and women who died in World War II. These people grew up being told that dying for the nation was the most honorable way to die. The fact that politicians now refused to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers was not only an insult to the families, but it also made them feel as if they had been betrayed by the nation that had told them to go and die with honor in the name of Japan.


The Liberal Democratic Party

The Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, has been very vocal in its support for Yasukuni Shrine. Its support became more vocal and more public in the 1960's. It has gone further than mere vocal support. On several occasions the LDP has introduced legislation that would grant official State support for the Shrine. The LDP first introduced the "Yasukuni Shrine Bill" in 1969. The bill would have legalized State support for the Shrine. It failed, but was re-introduced in 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1974, and all attempts failed. The main reason for the failure of the bill was the Japanese Constitution's clause requiring separation of religion and the State.


The Ultra-Nationalists

The ultra-nationalists believe that Yasukuni should be the symbol used to rally around, just like it was after the Russo-Japanese War, and during World War II. In July of 2001, one hundred-eighty ultra-nationalists, dressed up in military uniform, marched to Yasukuni and on to the homes of politicians whome they believed were making Japan weak. One of the marchers said to a reporter "everybody is taking Japan lightly and looking down on us, we must build a Japan that is respected." Although the ultra-nationalists are not a very large group, it is opinions and actions like theirs that are teh roots of many arguments by the opposition to Yasukuni. Opponents claim that the ultra-nationalists would use Yasukuni as a rallying point to promote militarism in Japan and return it back to a country with imperialistic notions.




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