In response to Yasukuni: the curious approach the Chinese and South Korean governments take toward an unresolved link to the past
Loading...
Authors
Lewentowicz, Steven E.
Subjects
Japan
Tokyo
Peoples Republic of China
Beijing
Republic of Korea
Seoul
Yasukuni Shrine
Shinto
Political Systems
Authoritarian
Democracy
Anti- Japanese Nationalism
Tokyo
Peoples Republic of China
Beijing
Republic of Korea
Seoul
Yasukuni Shrine
Shinto
Political Systems
Authoritarian
Democracy
Anti- Japanese Nationalism
Advisors
Miller, Alice
Date of Issue
2013-06
Date
Jun-13
Publisher
Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
Lingering historical animosities between Japan and its Northeast Asian neighborsChina and South Korea inhibit improvements in Japans bilateral relationships with these countries and contribute to regional instability. One of the ways Japan antagonizes its neighbors is when the Japanese prime minister pays tribute to Japanese war dead through ceremonial worship at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo an event that Chinese and Koreans criticize as honoring Japanese imperialism. When Japanese prime ministers visit Yasukuni, they elicit responses from Beijing and Seoul that are widely known. What is less understood is what these responses can reveal about the starkly different political systems these two countries employ. The study examines 64 Japanese prime ministerial visits to the Yasukuni Shrine since 1951 and the resultant responses from Beijing and Seoul, and argues that the difference in political system had little impact on the approaches both governments took to these visits. While political systems may not have shaped the responses, they were important in the way each government responded to public opinion. The thesis concludes that when either government objected to official visits to Yasukuni, the underlying motivation for both governments was and remains the same: To prevent a resurgence of Japanese militarism.
Type
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.