This may look like just a photo of rather boring-looking suits being led by a placid Eastern monk through some Asian temple, but it’s created a furore in South Korea and China.
The picture shows Japanese lawmakers visiting the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which deifies people who have died for the Empire of Japan, including 14 convicted Class A war criminals (among them the ex-prime minster who was directly responsible for Pearl Harbour). The shrine owns a museum that may politely be called ‘revisionist’, displaying Imperial Army memorabilia ranging from military badges to suicide torpedoes. It’s not uncommon to see men, and sometimes toddlers, dressed in World War 2 uniform marching outside.
This morning, a record 168 Japanese lawmakers of all political stripes visited the shrine, after two members of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet visited on Sunday, and Abe himself sent a ritual offering.
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