Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2011 August 3 - 16 [HISTORY]

‘Class-A war criminals’ are really not war criminals: finance minister

Finance Minister Noda Yoshihiko, one of the leading candidates in the race to be the next prime minister, repeated his view that “class-A war criminals” are not really war criminals at a press conference held on August 15.

Asked about whether a prime minister should visit Yasukuni Shrine, the war shrine honoring class-A criminals, Noda stated, “That is a matter the prime minister should judge for himself.” The finance minister avoided answering the question on whether he would pay a visit to the shrine if elected as the next prime minister, saying, “That is a hypothetical question.”

Noda has previously stated, “(The San Francisco Peace Treaty) legally redeemed the honor of ‘war criminals.’ Thus, the argument against a prime minister’s right to visit Yasukuni Shrine on the grounds that the shrine houses war criminals makes no sense.”

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan plans to hold its presidential election at the end of August to choose a successor to Prime Minister Kan Naoto (DPJ President). Noda already expressed his intention to run in the election.