Taipei: Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung stated on Wednesday that the government "respects" the range of views in Japan concerning senior officials' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. The site, which honors Japan's war dead including World War II war criminals, remains a controversial symbol. Lin emphasized the importance of Japan reflecting on its wartime actions while expressing hope for collaborative efforts between Taipei and Tokyo to maintain regional peace and stability.
According to Focus Taiwan, Lin was responding to inquiries from Kuomintang (KMT) opposition lawmaker Lai Shyh-bao regarding what he perceived as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA) mild response to visits by senior members of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Cabinet to the shrine. These visits, coinciding with the 81st anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, included Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and several other Cabinet members on August 15, 2026.
The visits provoked immediate diplomatic protests and condemnation from China and South Korea. In contrast, MOFA expressed respect for the diversity of views within Japan on the issue, a stance that drew criticism from the KMT and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) for being too lenient. Lin clarified that the ministry's statement respected the variety of perspectives in Japan concerning the visits, not the visits themselves.
When questioned on Japan's role during World War II, Lin affirmed, "Of course it was the invader." The Yasukuni Shrine, a site of controversy, enshrines approximately 2.5 million people, including around 28,000 Taiwanese who died serving in the Japanese military during Taiwan's period as a Japanese colony. The shrine's enshrinement of 14 Class-A war criminals in 1978 continues to make it a diplomatic flashpoint with neighboring Asian countries.