Generations

too bad not a single banner is readable. the one under the flag looks like a poem or a song but nothing political. i wonder do these guys have any political programme at all other than your normal right wing scapegoating of foreigners/immigrants with "they took our jobs" kind a pseudo-thinking? "took-a-durrrr"

If this had been ww2, that baby would be armed.... Just kidding, he's cute!!

Look at these meatheads

Useless mob.

Such a shame - that poor kid will probably grow up to be a hateful, fat grub like the morons in blue factory-suits.

I wonder if the nationalist will give them reparations in the future?

Pay tribute to the war dead? Well that might be what their mouths are saying, but somehow I doubt its what is going on their minds. Guys like these are always on the hunt for excuses for making trouble. Making a show of paying tribute to the war dead is a means of acquiring legitimacy for their desires for violence. For them, its part of the cult of violence and its effective. So much so we should probably not honor the war dead at all, but just forget them.

Too bad, unlike Kan, they saying nothing or little about Japan being committed to peace. If the human race could balance words for peace with honor of war dead, I would be fine with it. But history proves too few can do this. They take an honoring of war dead as an honoring of war. Such is the stupidty of mankind.

Bunch of uneducated hillbillies with nothing better to do.

Pillars of the community, every one.

Kan pledges Japan's commitment to peace on 65th anniversary of WWII's end

The coinciding headline! It is a cute baby, but it's a shame he has mullets for parents!

These guys are a joke, pure and simple. Spewing hatred, parking their huge vehicles sometimes near the Chinese and Korean embassy, blaring and shouting you can hear these jokers a mile away, no one cares, no one listens to them except other right-wing nut jobs and they do this all for what??! They want to return to the glory days? Glory days of what? Now you have that idiot LePen visit the Yasakuni Shrine, who's next? Tom Metzger, David Duke, Achmadinadoit? These bozo's need to sit down and get a real life...or job!

the french is sohai!

Hate these guys but at least they're looking after their kid which is something compared to most Japanese men!

This photo sends a strong message. Too bad this little guy has to be exposed to an event "celebrating" such a low point in human history.

Actually, they do have real lives and jobs, and importantly, connections to sources of funding that enable them to operate.

You might even be unknowingly contributing to their operating funds. Remember this story?

http://www.japantoday.com/category/shukan-post/view/tamogamis-testimony-stirs-hornets-nest-in-diet

If you've ever stayed at an Apa Hotel or used the Apaman real estate agency, you've probably indirectly supported them. One of the nationwide ramen chains is also a big contributor.

Stay informed about the companies with which you do business...

e.g., Blockbuster Video pushing a Christian agenda, for instance.

Not in Australia mate!

Hnouring the ones who fought for your country...okay seems reasonable. But to honour those who commited mass rapes and massacres on ordinary YOUs and MEs is not so reasonable...

So these are the nazi wannabes in Japan. I hope I never meet one.

@mojibake WT.....really?? Man, my pad is partially owned by these clowns, great, just great. Thanks for the info!

@tigerguy You can't miss these guys, you will always know when they're around. Their trucks have these loudspeakers that shell out their voices and pre 1930 crappy propaganda music so loud they make a 747 passing you overhead sound like a tiny mosquito.

@bass4funk Thanks for the heads up. I always thought those noisy and annoying trucks were real politicians from the 2 main parties...hehe

A cute baby softens the image of ugly guys.

I actually stopped to listen to a rant from these creeps on the anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing. It went something like this; "What cowards we Japanese were to take this! Where is our dignity! Fighting spirit! Why do we tolerate bad (sic) foreigners in our midst, playing with our pure Japanese girls!" On and on it went. The young Japanese girls passed by in dresses so tight and short they had to be born in them, all the while twiddling with their phones and oblivious. If you understand the rants they can be quite threatening, ugly.

mojibake, I don't think Apaman is related to APA group. If you don't have direct evidence showing otherwise, then tell us why you though so. If you guessed the relationship by the name, that is foolish as hell. Let us know. I don't think Apaman shop deserves a loss in business on a flaky guess. APA group though, boycott away folks. And if you flatten the tire of an uyoku loudspeaker van, I didn't see it. I have a large blind spot.

Banzai! Banzai! Oppai!

hate with mere talk is just ugly

hate with talk and ACTION is glory

I liked these guys when they used to be called Sonno Joi who actually believe it or not, did things apart from barking in the street

@tmarie] your stereotype of Japanese men and their parenting skills is based on how many actual interactions with your target? I see plenty, plenty of good dads in Japan. Don't speak before engaging understanding or knowledge. Taking a child to this shrine is hardly a sign of good parenting, that would see the child in a photo in the park.

@mojibake and mistwizard. I'm not sure you guys were talking about Anpan-man being related to the Apa group but what worries me is that here in Kyushu a right wing bus drives around playing the themesong of Anpanman and other popular kidssongs at the usual disturbing soundvolume. It's like these rightwingers are recruiting members among kindergarten kids. At times when I pass by the bus at it's usual parking place which happens to be near my favorite fishingspot I fantasise about putting an anpan-muffin into it's exhaust. (Of course I will never do that .... unless I get a real Anpan-man suit so I can fly away if they catch me)

Pity about those guys because lots of sincere Japanese go to Yasukuni on that day for innocent reasons.

Indeed Yasukuni, so the best solution would be to seperate the warcriminals from the rest who died just serving their country. And send the bill to the people who mixed them up. Don't you agree ?

freedomski.

Unfortunately that cant be done that easily, the goverment has no power/control over the shrine. Same for the Emperor.

The goverment has been asking the shrine to remove the war-criminals for years, but the head-priest refuses as he sez you can't remove a spirit once enshrined.

Even if the physical remains(Bones/Ashes) were there they would all be in one pit all mixed up.

Hope this clears it up a bit.

Scum visiting dead scum.

The presence of war criminals remains dishonours ordinary soldiers buried or remembered there. Disinter and flush them down nearest sewer. Why treat as anything other than .

Thank you Zenny11. It clears up a bit and it's quite depresssing at the same time. It seems as big a complication as let's say the israel/palestinian problem. If not worse in case things escalate on this issue. I was thinking that the most simple solution is often the best solution. But this is proof that rationality doesn't get you very far nowadays. If I understand it right, the head-priest says you can't do it. Does it mean we have to wait till a new head-priest comes into office that is willing to find a way to remove spirits once enshrined ? Maybe there is a way to seperate them spiritually without moving any physical remains. Do that with a proper ceremony and have it carved into stone and have that stone placed at a prominent place at the shrine would be convincing enough for me that the Yasukuni shrine is not sympathizing with any fans of warcriminals.

THIMK, I don't think there are any actual remains there that you could "flush them down [the] nearest sewer". Only their spirits are enshrined at Yasukuni.

Really it is all a matter of how you look these things. If you are going to this shrine because your grandfather is there (even if only in spirit) then who else is there is of no consequence.

As for who are and who are not war criminals, well that might depend for a lot of people on whose side you fought on. You can see how your view of a war changes who are the good guys and who the bad and just because Japan was the enemy and lost the war doesn’t mean that they have to believe what the “victors” tell them to believe. It could be reasoned that even war criminals dies for their country, you may not like it, but then they were not your leaders.

And have you thought that if people with cameras didn’t go to this shrine at these times these blue suited folk might simply not be an issue.

I don’t normally like baby pictures but this one’s fun, nice expression on its face.

Do that with a proper ceremony and have it carved into stone and have that stone placed at a prominent place at the shrine would be convincing enough for me that the Yasukuni shrine is not sympathizing with any fans of warcriminals.

The problem is that there are no such thing as "convincing" enough for certain audiences. You remove Class A, the next thing they'll rant is to remove Class B & C. Then they'll ask to remove Yushukan. All of this still wouldn't satisfy because of some left wing nuts would say the visits violates the constitution.

Secondly, what's the point? To appease the minority? To appease the Three stooges of Far East Asia? Why should a private entity get involved in a political matter?

Future cameraman.

graftin; You`ve got the wrong end of the stick. I am talking about these lowlife scum who would be locked up in most countros for all the hate they spread. Nothing to do with who is prayed for at that Shrine.

I am commenting soley on the fact that these racist scum are allowed to parade around shouting abuse and lies about foreigners and glorifying war often through loudspeakers without being stopped. If i had a loudpseaker and started shouting in the streets that the main criminals in Japan were Japanese and they are ruining my peace as a legal resident, how long bfore i am nicked?

@tmarie] your stereotype of Japanese men and their parenting skills is based on how many actual interactions with your target? I see plenty, plenty of good dads in Japan. Don't speak before engaging understanding or knowledge. Taking a child to this shrine is hardly a sign of good parenting, that would see the child in a photo in the park.

Over 10 years in Japan and a Japanese husband. Do I win a cookie? There certainly are some good dads out there but "plenty"? Give me a break. I could turn around and ask you about your "actual interactions" if you believe such BS.

Nigelboy, you are speculating quite a bit. Just carve in the ceremonial stone that it counts for all warciminals from A-Z then that problem is solved by a few chops of a chisel. As Grafton's looks at the issue is more humane, I can sympathize with that. So the next thing I can think of is that the best option for becoming friends with the other asian neigbor's and former opponants from other continents would be to build a proper war memorial in Japan for ALL the pain and sorrow they have caused. (I know it's more than 65 years ago, but everyone knows time didn't heal this yet). It's not that I want to humiliate the Japanese people in anyway, just I feel it's a just thing to do and a good way to come clean with it's own past. And if nothing more is done I think that there will never be peace without fear around here.

teaching them young to be right wingers.

"mojibake, I don't think Apaman is related to APA group. If you don't have direct evidence showing otherwise, then tell us why you though so."

It's listed here: http://www.apa.co.jp/outline/outline01.html

The latest essay is "If you want peace, then prepare for war." http://www.apa.co.jp/appletown/bigtalk/index.html

The thing is, Apa Group operates more above-the-board than most of the other right-wing supporters, even taking the trouble to post stuff in English for our "benefit". The businesses we should really be worried about are the ones who quietly funnel cash to the guys in the photo. Fortunately, we have stuff like JT to help us share the info...

Let the pay their respects at Yasukuni. Take that away from them would only be a thorn in their foot and cause more trouble. I don't care what they say about foreigners. If I don't get indignant towards them and show them that I am respectful of their "freedom of speech" then maybe they'll respect me as an individual. It's you indignant types that look at them with sour looks on your faces that fuels their stereotypes about foreigners. They have never been threatening to me. I do hate their noise though. Wish the cops would crack down on that. Japan could use less noise.

VJ Day in London today. Some horrible stories about brutal Japanese during the WW2 being broadcast on SKY NEWS today. Horrible, just horrible what happened.

cowards! i've looked at plenty of them right in the eyes(usually when I'm with one of thier "pure" japanese girls), and they just look away. lol pathetic

I think I saw these guys on Yokosuka Base during our open base Friendship Day. Yup I'm positive. They were drinking beer and buying up loads of Anthony's Pizza.

VJ Day in London today. Some horrible stories about brutal Japanese during the WW2 being broadcast on SKY NEWS today. Horrible, just horrible what happened.

Brits can celebrate all they want, but history will not forget about how an Oriental race sodomised them and teared their empire apart, only to be spared by the Americans whom they owe an eternal debt.

Looks like the kid is trying out for a Travelocity Gnome job.

They're just like those theory Nazis-- and somehow resemble the image of the Tea Party Group who is trying to make hostage takeover of the GOP.