Some key facts about Yasukuni war shrine<\/p>\n
Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine is at the center of a row between Japan
\nand China, triggered this week after China's vice premier Wu Yi
\ncanceled a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
\nover the issue of his visits there.<\/p>\n
Here are some facts about the shrine.<\/p>\n
* The Yasukuni shrine established in 1869 and funded by the
\ngovernment until 1945, is dedicated to Japan's 2.5 million war
\ndead, including around 1,000 war criminals convicted and executed
\nby a series of Allied tribunals during and after the war.<\/p>\n
* In Japanese, yasu means peace and kuni means country.
\n* The shrine is seen by China and North and South Korea, all
\ninvaded by imperial Japan in the run-up to World War Two, as a
\nsymbol of Japan's militaristic past.<\/p>\n
* War criminals were designated \"Class A\", \"B\" or \"C\" by the
\nAllied tribunals mainly according to their rank in the military
\nor government. \"Class A\" war criminals included wartime prime
\nminister Hideki Tojo, as well as former war ministers, foreign
\nministers and generals.<\/p>\n
* Fourteen \"Class A\" war criminals were officially enshrined at
\nYasukuni along with about 1,700 other war dead in 1978. News of
\nthe secret ceremony caused an uproar when it leaked out six
\nmonths later.<\/p>\n
* Yasuhiro Nakasone was the first postwar prime minister to make
\nan official visit to the shrine. He paid his respects there in
\n1985, but abandoned further visits after protests in China.<\/p>\n
* Koizumi promised to visit Yasukuni as prime minister during his
\ncampaign for ruling party president in 2001, a pledge some say
\nwas key to winning the election since it secured the votes of a
\npowerful association of war veterans and their families. He has
\nsince worshiped there every year but has yet to go this year.<\/p>\n
* Koizumi and other lawmakers say their visits to the shrine are
\nnot intended to glorify war but to honor the war dead and pray
\nfor peace.<\/p>\n
Source: Reuters, www.yasukuni.or.jp<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/some-key-facts-about-yasukuni-war-shrine-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }