Japan Press Weekly

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2022 January 5 - 11 [POLITICS]

PM Kishida’s visit to Ise Shrine violates constitutional principle of separation of state and religion

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on January 4 visited the Ise Grand Shrine (or Ise Shrine) in Mie Prefecture in violation of the postwar constitutional principle of separation of state and religion as well as of his constitutional obligation as prime minister to respect and uphold the supreme law.

Ise Shrine, during the prewar and wartime period, performed together with Yasukuni Shrine an important role as a spiritual prop to promote militarism and war. Even now, it is a place of worship for constitutional revisionists and rightwing organizations such as the Nippon Kaigi (Japan Conference) and the Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership.

The National Christian Council Japan’s committee on Yasukuni issues in 2021 sent PM Kishida a letter of request demanding that PM Kishida comply with the Constitution and not make a New Year’s visit to Ise Shrine.

PM Kishida’s stance to push forward with the non-essential, unconstitutional visit to Ise Shrine amid a surge in infections caused by the omicron variant is being called into question.