Koizumi shrine visit ruled unconstitutional

[Tokyo-K1]

I have an analogy we could use to put the argument of this thread into perspective, since some of the war dead in the shrine are war criminals.

Would we look lightly on the leader of Germany if he/she were ever to pay respects to the grave of Hitler? I think not, and the same thing can be applied to the war criminals of Japan.

[Index]

I have an analogy we could use to put the argument of this thread into perspective, since some of the war dead in the shrine are war criminals.

Would we look lightly on the leader of Germany if he/she were ever to pay respects to the grave of Hitler? I think not, and the same thing can be applied to the war criminals of Japan.

As Mandylion pointed out earlier in this thread, it is not such a simple matter to create cross-cultural analogies without taking into account the underlying differences in perception and belief that make up so called "rational" decision making.

For example:

There is a common thought in Buddhism, and one that has survived the transition to Japan, that the people who need the most prayers and services in their memory are the evil people, not the good ones.

The point, of course, is not whether you subscribe to this belief, but that there are various possible sequences of logic based on belief systems, and these can result in disagreement as to what is or is not a "rational" decision.

Would we look lightly on the leader of Germany if he/she were ever to pay respects to the grave of Hitler?

As an aside, it might also be prudent to be more accurate with such analogies. One could argue for example, that Mr. Koizumi is not visiting the shrine of a specific figure (whoever might be considered the Japanese equivalent of Adolf Hitler), but the shrine and those contained therein in general. While one could then argue that Yasukuni shrine represents all who are buried there, including the class-A War Criminals (so paying respects to one means paying respects to all), it could also be argued that Yasukuni shrine represents all who are buried there, including honorable and respected national heroes (and again paying respects to one means paying respects to all). The point is again to point out that there could be a multitude of interpretations for "rational" decisions and that one needs to be accurate and well informed when making analyses (and analogies) of this sort.

Of course from the structural-realist position in international relations, one could argue that culture or domestic circumstances have little to say when it comes to the relations between states.

It might also make sense to consider whether the fuss being made by certain states about Mr. Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni shrine are not at least in part (at least in relation to foreign policy) a smoke screen for other issues such as the one of disputed oil fields in the Sea of Japan, Japanese Constitutional reform re. article 9, or discreditation in regards to UN Security Council reforms.