Japanese peace advocate denounces visits to war-linked Yasukuni Shrine as "absurd"

A prominent Japanese peace advocate has voiced firm opposition to recent visits and ritual offerings by right-wing politicians to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 14 convicted Class-A war criminals from World War II, denouncing the actions as "absurd and erroneous".

According to Japanese media reports, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and several other high-ranking officials, including Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare Kenichiro Ueno, Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Minoru Kiuchi, House of Representatives Speaker Eisuke Mori, and House of Councilors President Masakazu Sekiguchi, sent ritual offerings to the shrine on Saturday.

Kiuchi also personally visited the war-linked site, making him the first member of Prime Minister Takaichi's cabinet reported to have done so during this year's autumn festival.

In an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) in Tokyo, Takakage Fujita, secretary-general of the Association for Inheriting and Propagating the Murayama Statement, criticized the shrine for distorting Japan's modern history.

"This is absolutely absurd. Yasukuni Shrine claims that the war was a 'just war'. It is a shrine that distorts Japan's modern history and upholds erroneous, foolish right-wing ideologies. It is inherently wrong for Japanese lawmakers to visit such a place. The shrine's ideology is completely at odds with the spirit of Japan's pacifist constitution. We firmly oppose Japanese politicians and the public visiting Yasukuni Shrine," said Fujita.

Fujita urged Japanese society to uphold the historic spirit of the Murayama Statement.

On Aug. 15, 1995, then Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama issued a cabinet-endorsed statement in his name to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The Murayama Statement acknowledges Japan's wartime mistakes. It also expressed "deep remorse" and offered a "heartfelt apology", using unprecedented language to apologize for Japan's wartime actions.

"The Murayama Statement addresses the true nature of that war and the severe damage it inflicted upon the Chinese and Asian people. It was an egregious war of aggression that must never be repeated. This is the fundamental spirit of the Murayama Statement. Therefore, Japanese politicians and top leaders must absolutely not visit the shrine that defends that war of aggression and falsely claims it was a 'just war'," said Fujita.

Fujita also warned against the current Japanese government's approach to history education, emphasizing the urgent need to convey historical truths to younger generations.

"The Murayama Statement is an official statement issued by the Japanese government in 1995, and it remains the official stance of the government to this day. However, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) authorities have consistently tried to avoid teaching the history of aggression to young Japanese people. In order to make this country more actively teach the truth of that war to the younger generation, there must be a shift in Japan's political direction," said Fujita.

Japanese peace advocate denounces visits to war-linked Yasukuni Shrine as "absurd"

Japanese peace advocate denounces visits to war-linked Yasukuni Shrine as "absurd"

Japanese peace advocate denounces visits to war-linked Yasukuni Shrine as "absurd"

The China International Import Expo (CIIE) offers foreign companies a key trade platform to showcase their products and expand sales in China, a business leader has said, noting that many Portuguese companies are keen to participate again this year. In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Bernardo Mendia, secretary-general of the Portugal-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the chamber promotes the CIIE widely in Portugal through its online platforms and at physical events held every year. "I'm aware that many Portuguese companies will participate. We as China-Portugal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we promote widely in Portugal through all our online platforms. We also organize every year, we try to organize or at least participate in a physical event in Portugal to promote China International Import Fair. And the AICEP, which is the Portuguese investment agency, every year they organize a group of Portuguese companies and they themselves are present there with their own booth," Mendia said.

"I believe this year will not be an exception, and so they will participate again. It's a quite relevant participation. We understand that this has a lot of interest for our companies, because it's a trade exhibition that is for foreign entities to showcase their products and make sales in China. So it's precisely what we need to do more, so it's perfect. And we are very happy that China is still continuing to organize and put so much importance in this exhibition in Shanghai," he said.

The ninth CIIE will be held in Shanghai from November 5 to 10. Launched in 2018 as the world's first national-level expo dedicated to imports, the CIIE was designed to expand China's opening-up and turn its vast market into a shared opportunity for the world.

China's import expo offers foreign companies key platform to showcase products: chamber head