Ahead of V-J Day, Japanese young people reflect on whitewashed history at Yasukuni

Ahead of V-J Day, Japanese youth are reflecting on the whitewashed history at Yasukuni Shrine. Hanako Chiba, a Japanese youth activist, was shocked to find an exhibit at Yushukan war history museum, located at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, suggesting Japan helped Asian countries gain independence. This revelation occurred just two days before August 15, a date commemorating Japan's end of World War II but Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

During a joint campaign with Korean activists, Chiba closely inspected the items on display and noticed the absence of any mention of Japan's colonial rule over Korea and Taiwan. The map at the museum showed countries gaining independence, but failed to label Korea as independent, unlike Vietnam and the Philippines. This omission was based on a questionable argument that Japan legally annexed Korea in 1910, making Korea's liberation in 1945 different from the independence achieved by Asian countries colonized by Western powers.

The museum even attempted to justify the 1937 Nanjing Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War, claiming the Japanese were "mopping up enemy remnants" hiding among civilians. A 30-meter warship rope, made from donated hair during the First Sino-Japanese War, was labeled as an "expression of patriotism." Baby dolls wearing military uniforms and Zero model planes, used as suicide attack planes towards the end of WWII, were on display.

The Japanese government continues to gloss over and manipulate historical facts, as evidenced by the annual visits by influential Japanese politicians to the infamous shrine. Despite being convicted of Class A war crimes, fourteen Pacific War war criminals and around 2.5 million war dead from civil conflicts and Japan's wars of aggression are enshrined at Yasukuni.

Around 20,000 Korean victims of Japanese colonial rule are also enshrined at the site, despite the presence or wishes of their families. Some are advocating for fallen Japan Self-Defense Forces soldiers to be entombed at Yasukuni, arguing that secularizing the shrine for political reasons violates the separation of church and state.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to skip a visit to Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday, marking the first anniversary of the end of WWII since her inauguration, to maintain friendly relations with Korea and the upcoming APEC summit in China.