Visit to Shrine Raises Japan’s Imperial Past

“Leader Stirs Anger With Shrine Visit” (Aug. 14) fails to report what the Yasukuni Shrine is to modern Japan. The shrine is where the heart and soul of imperial Japan is resting. When the current prime minister makes an official visit to the shrine, it signals to the world that modern Japan is embracing the ideals of imperial Japan, which was responsible for destroying millions of lives--including tens of thousands of Americans (remember Pearl Harbor?). The visit would be equivalent to the current chancellor of Germany paying a visit to the shrine of the Nazis to worship the Nazis’ ideology.

The article tries to discount the significance of the visit by describing the shrine as a common tourist attraction, and further tries to discount the Korean protest efforts by saying they are “possible gangsters.” It would be interesting to know if there are gangsters who would cut off their fingers because a prime minister of a neighboring country visited a tourist attraction.

Kyungro Yoon

Cerritos

*

Koreans should stop judging Japan’s imperial past and move on. For the past 40-plus years, Japan favored Korea in many ways over other Asian countries. Koreans must believe that modern Japan is their ally. It is time for Koreans to stop being politically correct and face Korea’s imperial past with truth and courage. Were we truly all victims?

John Kim

Fullerton