The South Korean government expressed strong disapproval on August 15 regarding the Japanese officials' offerings and visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors war dead, including convicted war criminals.
The Ministry of National Defense summoned Takeshi Nagayoshi, the Japanese defense attaché in South Korea, to protest against Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi's visit to the shrine, the first by a sitting defense minister in two years.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry criticized the actions of Japanese leaders, stating, "We cannot help but express our dismay at the repeated offerings and visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which glorifies Japan's past invasions and enshrines war criminals, reflecting a retrogressive attitude toward history."
The ministry urged Japanese leaders to confront history and demonstrate genuine reflection and remorse through their actions, emphasizing that this is crucial for building a future-oriented Korea-Japan relationship based on mutual trust.
Kim Hak-jo, the director of international policy at the Defense Ministry, conveyed strong objections to Nagayoshi regarding Koizumi's visit, expressing regret over the glorification of Japan's colonial past and aggressive wars associated with the shrine.
Kim also stated that the defense minister's visit contradicts efforts to foster a future-oriented relationship based on trust between South Korea and Japan, expressing serious concerns over the implications.
On this day, which marks both Korea's Liberation Day and Japan's defeat in World War II, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi did not visit the shrine but made an offering as the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Four current ministers, including Koizumi, Hitoshi Kikawada, Kimiko Onoda, and Minoru Kiuchi, participated in the shrine visit, alongside key officials from the ruling party in an unusual group visit.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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