62 years after the second World War, grudges against the Japanese still lingers in the air, especially with their present Prime Minister still visiting the shrine as he had promised the members of the Association of War Bereaved Families to gather more supports for himself.
The shrine honors war criminals from the war, among which are 14 Class A War Criminals and is often seen as a symbol of the Japanese military aggression. However, it is made known to Japan that it is all right for Prime Minister Koizumi to visit the shrine but not his purpose in doing so by China and South Korea. Furthermore, his fellow countrymen are also not supporting him in this decision of his.
If this carries on and he holds on the post as Prime Minister for a second term in the upcoming elections to be held in September, Japan and the neighboring countries may run into some problems with regards to their economic and political relationships. Being one of the most developed countries in the world, Japan requires the backing of the other countries, especially those in Asia and vice versa for the region to prosper. With weak economic ties with China and political ties that are on the brink, his determination to fulfill his promise to continue his visits to the shrine may worsen the situation. Moreover, this may even lead to unnecessary a conflict that is disadvantageous to the world today with terrorism all around us. On top of that, he visits the shrine every 15 August, a sensitive date that the other Asian countries would not like to remember, the day the Japanese surrendered. It somehow implies his sadness in the fall of the country.
Therefore, the only way out is for PM Koizumi to stop his visits to the shrine or maybe change the date of his visits to a date which is less sensitive that would not enrage his neighboring countries, jeopardizing the economics that may have adverse effects.
