Japan marks WW2 anniversary at controversial Tokyo war shrine

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STORY: :: Ministers and visitors mark Japan's defeat in World War Two at this Tokyo war shrine

:: August 15, 2024

:: Tokyo, Japan

:: Other Asian nations see the controversial shrine as a symbol of Japan's wartime aggression

:: "We can live happily now because our ancestors fought in the war. I don't think we should ever forget that, so that's why I make sure I visit the shrine every year."

:: "My grandfather died fighting in the war. August 15 marks the day the war ended, and I've never been here on this day so I came for the first time."

Various government ministers including the Minister of Defense Minoru Kihara and Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi visited the site in Tokyo, the capital.

Fourteen prominent convicted war criminals, including wartime prime minister Hideki Tojo, are among the 2.5 million war dead honored at the shrine.

Supporters of the shrine, established in 1869 as Japan emerged from more than two centuries of isolation, say it commemorates all the war dead and not only those blamed for waging war on neighbors.