politics

Candidates vary on elections, war shrine

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19 Comments
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Most of the candidates would visit (as they have before) Yasukuni given the chance. Fukuda did a lot to improve Sino-Jp relations, and I hope that doesn't all go down the drains.

The museum next door is even more disgraceful. Full of lies, whitewashing and the promotion of war.

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Kaminarikeizai, you have missed the point. The Yasukuni shrine - and visits to it by senior Japanese Politicians - are offensive, because it enshrines Class A War Criminals. Most other countries, as far as I am aware, will not allow Criminals who have committed disgraceful crimes against humanity, to be enshrines in national War Memorials. I applaud Fukuda for not visiting, as well as Kaoru Yosano. Instead of visiting Yasukuni, Japanese PMs should move on and look to the future, especially trying to rebuild good relations with neighbours.

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I don't think any of these candidates should move into the Prime Minister's residence because they won't be staying very long.

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kaminarikeizai- what if Germany had a similar shrine to pay respects for german war dead, and HItler and his thugs were interred. Would that be acceptable, even though the world would be outraged.

Destroy the Shrine, it is evil , it promotes Japanese propaganda, WWII weaponary, and makes Japan look the victim.

The p;ace is pathetic and a diasgrace to Japan.

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Don’t make it controversial. It’s just a shrine, where people are doing worship. People, who died for their country, should be respectable in their country. Many Japanese soldiers body were not found in World War II. What’s wrong with somebody if he/she pray ancestor in the Yasukuni Shrine. I have same sympathy with the people who were killed by Japanese army.

Shrine is not bad but war is bad. Why you hate a Shrine? Hate war. Even many soldiers were joined army without their intention. They were just following orders from their superiors. So war was a real devil.

America used atom bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. People who are opposing Yasukuni Shrine can oath, “ We will not visit America”.

It was a WAR, which was over 67 years ago. Don’t hate each other; contribute your effort for world peace. Everybody has a bad experience in the world war II.

Please do not do politics on Yasukuni Shrine and do not show your cheapness by highlighting it in media every year.

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Oh and I like that the candidates vary on their opinions, it shows their honesty, their age/generation, and their ability to talk!

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It is funny how we can attend war memorials of our own, but when who is going in another country becomes an issue, you start to wonder who has the issues.

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with the rubbish Japanese politicians keep serving up to their taxpayers, the other alternative as much as I hate to say it,the Japanese Communist Party,is creeping closer every day...

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China has aplace telling Japanese prime ministers where they can and cannot go. They complain due to Asian condemnation of the visits, due to Japanese politicians incompetence.

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there is so much else going on in japan - taxing way out of control, death from overwork, mislabeling of foods, people going crazy with knives, suidcides taking as many people as possible, selling poisoned and moldy rice etc, etc, this should not be on the top ten list of any new, however short, administation.

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So how long will the next PM stay in office? The door seems to be revolving faster. Aso won't go away until he becomes PM. When he does it'll be less than 6 months until another hawk comes along.

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China has no place telling our prime ministers where they can and cannot go. They only complain to deflect domestic criticism from their own incompetence.

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It's funny how the rightwing Japanese politicians relentlessly try to coerce the Emperor into visiting Yasukuni Shrine and their advances always get thoroughly ignored by him.

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The only way Japan will ever have open free elections is if people starting NOW begin to get interested in politics, and then MAYBE next or next next generation there will be enough people in power to effect change. The way it stands now, those old dudes will only give up power if it's taken from them. As far as Aso visiting the shrine, dude's family made money during WWII off of slave labor, and the family has never apologized, so I doubt he'll give a rip about any issues of sensitivity surrounding any potential shrine visit.

As far as general election goes, these fools only say stuff like that to stay in power, so they can keep people from having general elections.

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Let's just have the General Election please.

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projectaw11 The situation here in japan is totallyu different from that of Europe. People holding political power in Europe have clearly repented of the past evil of the Nazis, while people in power here hanker back to what they see as the "good old days" of Emperor worship and State Shintoism, the greatest evil to ever befall a nation on Planet Earth. People holding political power in Europe also do not try to change and doctor the history being taught in European schools about the Second World War. People in political power in Europe also do not visit Shrines of Hatred like Yasukuni Jinja, where Class a War Criminals are "enshrined" and worshipped. End of story. It is not only the Chinese and the Loreans who object to the evil Yasukuni - I am European, and I also protest. The non-commital attitude regarding going or not going to Yasukuni Shrine of Hate anong the "candidates" for Prime Minister from within the doomed LDP says it all. They are all basically tarred with the same brush - right wing Fascists. God help Japan until the Japanese people are allowed the democratic right to rid themselves of the curse of the LDP in a proper General Election.

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china and korea should stop whining about Japanese pm's visiting Yasukuni

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Simple. Visit the shrine and BOOM back to ten years again with sino-Japan relations back to -273C.

Just remove the dozen or so A-classes then all should be well and everybody (all peacelovers) will be happy.

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Don't visit the shrine, period. Too much headaches and bellyaching.

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