Japan in Their Own Words (JITOW)/日本からの意見

Prime Minister Koizumi's Homage to Yasukuni Shrine
TADOKORO Takehiko / Toho Gakuen Board Member

September 16, 2001
This is an issue that causes a considerable headache for the Japanese. That doesn't necessarily mean I am opposed to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Yasukuni Shrine. Honoring those who gave their lives for the country is a natural act not only for the prime minister but for all peoples. Prime Minister Koizumi's action poses a problem because of his apparent lack of consideration for the expected backlash from neighboring countries, bringing to mind a similar visit on August 15, 1985, by then Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, after which no Japanese prime minister dared to pay homage to the Shrine on that day Japan surrendered in World War II.

Since Nakasone, visits to Yasukuni Shrine by prime ministers and Cabinet members have been diminished to meaningless levels, such as whether the visits are "public or private," or take place on "August 15" or not. This has made it more frustrating not only for Japan's neighboring countries but for the Japanese people as well. What has strained relations with our neighbors is the enshrining of Class-A war criminals at Yasukuni, but it must be noted that there was a considerable number of ordinary Japanese soldiers who willingly gave their lives for the cause of an aggressive war. Not all the war dead died "unwilling deaths," as is often said. I once asked the late Iwai Akira, former Chief Secretary of the General Council of Trade Unions of Japan, about this point, to which Iwai, a recipient of the Lenin Peace Prize who had experienced battle on the Chinese mainland, said: "the soldiers atoned for their deeds by giving their lives in exchange for peace." Memorable words indeed.

How should we then consider the Yasukuni issue, and explain to our neighbors, who were the victims of the war? I agree with South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who said that "this is an issue not about persisting with the past, but about whether we can get along with each other with neighborly trust in the present, and whether we can walk together with our minds on the future, without fear of our tomorrows." Well then, how should we proceed?

Enshrining Class-A war criminals separately will not offer a solution. And as long as Yasukuni Shrine remains standing, it would be difficult to create a national cemetery. A Swedish social anthropologist resident in Japan has suggested the Japanese prime minister pay visits to cemeteries for the war dead in China and South Korea, just as then U.S. President Ronald Reagan visited the graves of German soldiers (Sept. 8 issue of the Mainichi Newspaper). While that is an interesting suggestion, in China for instance, there are Massacre Museums in memory of Japanese atrocities in Nanjing and Pindingshan, but no cemeteries for soldiers who died in the war, such as Arlington in the U.S. and Yasukuni in Japan. Aggressors and victims cannot be on an even footing when looking back on history that includes a war of aggression and colonial rule. The first step will be for Japan to offer a clear indication to our neighboring countries and the world, of its will to building peace in a future-oriented manner, based on a rational review of history including war and colonial rule. The next step is for each of us, not just our prime minister, to express Japanese views on honoring our war dead in a straightforward manner.

While mourning for the dead may be the same the world over, it comes in various styles. For example, there is a vast difference between the Japanese, who believe that "in death, everyone becomes a Buddha," and the Chinese, who believe that "a criminal will remain a criminal even after a thousand years." However, I believe that by communicating at various levels, instead of leaving the task to politicians, we can contribute to improving international mutual understanding.

The author is Toho Gakuen Board Member and former Beijing Bureau Chief of the Asahi Newspaper
The English-Speaking Union of Japan




靖国神社参拝について
田所 竹彦 / 桐朋学園理事

2001年 9月 16日
これは、日本人にとって頭の痛い問題だ。といって、私は必ずしも小泉首相の靖国参拝に反対しているわけではない。国のために戦って死んだ人びとを追悼するのは、首相に限らず、だれにとっても当然の行為であるからだ。小泉首相の行動の問題点は、85年八月に公式参拝し、以後の参拝をとりやめた中曽根首相と同じく、当然予想される近隣諸国の反発に対する適切な対応の用意が不十分だったと見られる点にある。

中曽根以来、首相や閣僚の靖国参拝は「公式か私的」か、「八月十五日」かどうかというふうに、ほとんど無意味なレベルに矮小化された。これでは、近隣諸国だけでなく、日本国民にも納得がいかない。近隣諸国とのあつれきのもとはA級戦犯の合祀問題だが、一般兵士のなかにも侵略戦争に積極的に荷担して死んでいった人は少なくない。よくいわれる「心ならずも逝った」人ばかりではないのだ。この問題で元総評事務局長の故岩井章氏の意見を聞いたところ、中国大陸で戦った経験を持つこのレーニン平和賞受賞者は私に、「兵士たちは死を以て平和をあがなったのだ」と答えた。味わい深い言葉だ。

では、靖国参拝をどのように考え、戦争の被害を受けた近隣諸国の人びとにどう説明すればよいのか。「これは過去への執着でなく、ただ今現在、隣人として互いに信頼し、付き合っていけるのか、将来への恐れなしに未来志向でともに歩んでいけるのかという問題だ」という金大中韓国大統領の意見に私は賛成だ。どんな方法があるのか。

A級戦犯の分祀は、問題の解決にはならない。国立墓地を作る案も、靖国神社がある以上、困難だろう。日本在住のスウェーデンの社会人類学者がドイツ人兵士の墓に参拝したレーガン大統領の例を引いて、中国と韓国の戦没兵士墓地への首相の参拝を勧めていた(九月八日付け毎日新聞)。面白い案だが、例えば中国には、南京や平頂山の虐殺記念館はあっても、アーリントンや靖国のような戦没兵士の墓地はない。侵略戦争や植民地支配をした側とされた側の認識もまた、イーブンではありえないのである。戦争や植民地支配を含む歴史を客観的に見直した上で、近隣諸国と世界に向かって、未来志向に立った平和構築の意志を明確に示すのが第一歩。次に、戦没者への追悼についての日本人の考え方を、首相だけでなく私たちが率直に示してゆくことが必要だ。

死者を悼むのは世界中どこでも同じでも、その方法はさまざまに異なる。例えば、「死ねば仏になる」と考える日本人と「悪人は千年たっても悪人」という中国人の感覚は大きくへだたっているが、政治家まかせでなく、それをさまざまなレベルで語り合ってゆくことは、国際的な相互理解の増進にも寄与するだろう。

(筆者は桐朋学園理事。元朝日新聞北京支局長)
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟


English Speaking Union of Japan > Japan in Their Own Words (JITOW) > Prime Minister Koizumi's Homage to Yasukuni Shrine