After Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi last week paid yet another visit to Yasukuni Shrine - the Tokyo war memorial that honors 2.47 million wartime dead, including 14 class-A war criminals - his country can look forward to a deepening of the remarkable diplomatic isolation that has enveloped it in recent years. - Newsweek.
Politics is an animal I would never understand. Nevertheless, this whole controversy over the Japanese PM's visit to the shrine is mind boggling!
Why do we care so much where the PM of a country goes?
Even though his visit was followed by those of about 200 parliament members, Mr Koizumi immediately played it down. He went, you see, in a private capacity not a public one: did he not wear a plain grey suit instead of the customary morning tails? Though he pledged that Japan would never wage war again, both Chinese and South Korean foreign ministers cancelled planned meetings with their Japanese counterpart, Nobutaka Machimura. The Chinese authorities issued orders to cancel bilateral exchanges on the mainland, citing a desire at a time of fervent anti-Japanese feelings to prevent “unexpected contingencies”. A planned summit later this year between South Korea's Roh Moo-hyun and Mr Koizumi is also off. - The Economist
Why is one country leader's patriotic stance affecting others so much? After all, these were the people who died for the country. Arent they worthy of some form of respect? For instance, an occasional visit by a dignitary?
Oh yeah, the 14 war criminals come in the way!? Gimme a break! For heavens sake, it was a WAR! And anything's fair! Plus it was AGES ago. It's sad how we let these things get blown out of proportion in the wake of globalization.
With all due respect for China - is it not being a hypocrite? The Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 where thousands were slaughtered shows that in "war" easily hundreds of war-criminals can spring up, let alone 14.
Based on my limited view of the world - I would say it's more to do with flashing its newly acquired influence than otherwise.
