August 15, 2026

August 15 marks the 81st anniversary of Japan's announcement of its unconditional surrender in World War II. Multiple Japanese media outlets have reported that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not plan to visit the Yasukuni Shrine on the day. Some have interpreted this as "a goodwill gesture," suggesting that Takaichi is taking into account the feelings of China, South Korea, the US and others. This interpretation is completely wrong. The Yasukuni Shrine enshrines 14 Class-A war criminals and stands as a spiritual symbol of militarism; no Japanese political leader should take even one step through its gates. That is the bare minimum, not "a goodwill gesture" by any means. Treating a decision "not to visit" as an act of goodwill is itself a desecration of historical justice.

Eighty-one years ago, under the heavy blows of China and the world's anti-fascist forces, Japan declared unconditional surrender. This was not the so-called "end of the war," but a defeat - the complete bankruptcy of militarist aggression. From the Cairo Declaration to the Potsdam Proclamation, a series of international legal documents forms an irrefutable chain of legal authority, clearly stipulating the postwar obligations Japan must undertake. This is not an option Japan can simply choose to do or not do; as a defeated nation, Japan has no way around it, nor does it have any room to bargain. 

What warrants vigilance is that, according to Japanese media reports, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki and other members of the party's "four-man leadership" were coordinating a collective visit to the Yasukuni Shrine on August 15. Whether they ultimately go or not, the entire axis of Japan's public discourse has already been dangerously skewed by such actors. The baseline of discussion has shifted from "whether Japan should take responsibility for its war of aggression" to "whether it should worship ghosts on such a sensitive day." Muddying the waters has long been a tactic favored by Japan's right wing. But there's no getting away with this one. As the international community watches closely, Japan must return to the fundamental question: What exactly should it do, to whom must it be accountable, and how should it answer for its actions?

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https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202608/1368240.shtml