Disputes over Yasukuni Shrine and Its War Dead in Contemporary Japan

Yasukuni Shrine, a Shinto sanctuary located in Tokyo, has become the focus of a recent dispute in Japan, and a source of criticism against Japanese politicians by neighboring Asian countries. Especially since the former Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro visited Yasukuni once every year during the period of his administration (2001-2006), arguments have been accumulated both in Japan and abroad. This essay tries to review some of the arguments over the war dead and war memory in modern Japanese history, referring also to more specific issues such as the Class A war criminals and Li Ying's documentary film Yasukuni (2007).