North Korea criticized Japanese politicians and their recent offerings and group visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, saying such actions “only heighten the awareness of neighboring countries.”
In an article titled "Persistent shrine visits are an expression of open ambitions for reinvasion," published on page 6 of the ruling Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Tuesday, the paper said that senior Japanese political figures had “once again gathered in groups to hold a shrine-worshiping spectacle,” and that “government officials had also offered ritual items.”
The criticism follows events during the autumn grand festival at Yasukuni Shrine in Japan, during which Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba offered a masakaki (Shinto ritual item) in the name of the prime minister. Members of the bipartisan group of lawmakers also visited the shrine as a group.
“Worshiping and glorifying Class A war criminals who were tried and executed by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East is an open challenge to, and trampling of, international justice,” the article said.
“The persistent visits by Japanese politicians to pay tribute to the ghosts of militarism are not merely nostalgia for the past, but a manifestation of ambitions to revive and realize a reinvasion.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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