Government encourages school trips to Yasukuni Shrine

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Government encourages school trips to Yasukuni Shrine

The Ministry of Education encouraged schools to organize trips to Yasukuni Shrine which advocates an historical outlook that justifies the past Japanese war of aggression.

It was revealed on September 19 that a government reply to a Dietember stated, "Schools may organize trips to Yasukuni Shrine as part of school events." The ministry distributed this document at a briefing for staff members of prefecture boards of education in late June and early July.

There is no doubt that pro-Yasukuni Shrine forces, who praise the past war of aggression as a just war, are behind this promotion of visits to the shrine.

In 1949, the ministry issued an instruction banning school-sponsored visits to the shrine. However, pro-Yasukuni LDP Dietmembers Eto Seiichi (House of Councilors) and Hiranuma Takeo (House of Representatives) got the government to confirm that the instruction has been “invalidated."

Eto and Hiranuma both said, “It is extremely regrettable to have deprived children of the opportunity to learn about the Japanese commemoration of remembering the war dead.

However, the shrine in question has a peculiar view that Japan's past wars were for self-protection, and for the liberation of Asia from Western control.

To take children to such a place as part of their classes will possibly lead them to have a pro-war understanding of history.

Kitamura Jun'ichi, secretary general of the Saitama Prefectural teachers and staff union said, "It is not good for children to study a shrine which promoted the war of aggression because the children are yet to acquire the ability to see things with a judicial mind or discriminating perspective." - Akahata, September 20, 2008