Japanese court rejects request for removal of Korean conscripts' names from Yasukuni Shrine
Published: 17 Jan. 2025, 18:35
Updated: 17 Jan. 2025, 19:08
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- MICHAEL LEE
- [email protected]
![A woman and a man bow in front of the main hall of Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15, 2024. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/17/787d6673-2747-4459-a215-e770ed27a5bb.jpg)
A woman and a man bow in front of the main hall of Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15, 2024. [AP/YONHAP]
Japan's Supreme Court on Friday rejected a request by Korean plaintiffs for the removal of their family members' names from Yasukuni Shrine.
The decision was met with protests and anger by the 27 plaintiffs, who wanted the names of their relatives struck from the controversial Shinto shrine in Tokyo, which is dedicated to the souls of almost 2.5 million men who died fighting in Japan’s wars in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The main controversy over Yasukuni centers around its enshrinement of 11 high-ranking Japanese officials who were convicted of Class A war crimes at the 1946-48 Tokyo War Crimes Trials. Two other officials honored by the shrine died before being sentenced, while another was found guilty of Class B crimes.
However, Yasukuni has also faced criticism for enshrining approximately 21,000 Koreans and 27,000 Taiwanese who were conscripted into the Japanese military while both regions were occupied by Japan.
In its decision, the Japanese Supreme Court said the conscripts’ families should have disputed their 1959 enshrinement within the 20 years after it occurred.
The court’s decision was denounced as unreasonable by the Korean plaintiffs, who said they were never officially informed by Yasukuni or the Japanese government about their relatives’ enshrinement.
![Korean plaintiff Park Nam-soon speaks to reporters outside the Supreme Court in Tokyo on Jan. 17 after the court rejected a request for the removal of her father's name from Yasukuni Shrine.[YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/17/73629928-2f83-45d7-bad0-dc4bbfc261f4.jpg)
Korean plaintiff Park Nam-soon speaks to reporters outside the Supreme Court in Tokyo on Jan. 17 after the court rejected a request for the removal of her father's name from Yasukuni Shrine.[YONHAP]
Plaintiff Park Nam-soon, whose father is enshrined at Yasukuni, told reporters outside the court that she was “dumbfounded” by the decision.
“We aren’t asking for money. We are only asking for their names to be removed to restore their honor,” she said, adding that she would “fight to the end.”
Kim Young-hwan, a representative of a civic group that supports victims of the Japanese occupation of Korea and their families, said the court’s adherence to the 20-year limit is “unacceptable.”
He noted that the Japanese government only informed the Korean government about the enshrinement of Koreans in the late 1990s, preventing their families from submitting disputes any earlier.
BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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