Bereaved kin sue Yasukuni

[rumpel]

08/12/2006

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
OSAKA--Nine family members of soldiers who served and died in the Japanese Imperial Army took an unprecedented step Friday by filing a lawsuit against Yasukuni Shrine, demanding that it no longer honor their kin.

The plaintiffs include 51-year-old Taiwanese aboriginal Yang Yuanhuang. The others are Japanese.

They said the war-related Shinto shrine, which honors 14 Class-A war criminals from World War II along with the nation's 2.5 million war dead, enshrined the souls of their relatives without consent.

They also sought 1 million yen each in compensation from the central government for their emotional suffering.

The state, they said, collaborated with the shrine by providing it with their relatives' names.

This marks the first time Yasukuni Shrine has been named as a defendant in a lawsuit over nullifying enshrinements, the plaintiffs' lawyers said.

The suit was filed with the Osaka District Court.

It says a total of 11 of the plaintiffs' relatives who served in the Japanese army between 1940 and 1945 died in battle or from disease in China, the Philippines, Okinawa Prefecture and elsewhere.

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200608110410.html

and

Koizumi fans speculation on shrine visit

08/11/2006

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Thursday continued to hint at a visit to Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, saying he will face criticism no matter when he goes.

His cryptic comments of recent days have fueled speculation that he plans to go on Aug. 15, the 61st anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.

Such a visit would unquestionably trigger a sharp reaction from China and South Korea.

"No matter when I might visit there--on the 15th, in April, October or January--I'd always be criticized. So it doesn't make a difference," he told reporters before leaving on a two-day trip to Mongolia.

Koizumi continued to evade direct questions about whether he would definitely visit, saying he will "properly" decide about it.

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200608110133.html