Koizumi has also long been a regular at Yasukuni, including as a government minister, but his first visit on Saturday as defence chief could rile Beijing, Seoul and Pyongyang.
Koizumi left the shrine without responding to reporters’ questions, but he later said on Instagram that he visited to “offer his sincere condolences to the heroic spirits who sacrificed their precious lives for the nation”.
“Along with our vow to renounce war, I reaffirmed our determination to continue fulfilling our responsibility to uphold Japan’s postwar path as a peaceful nation,” he added.
Japanese defence ministers have attended Yasukuni before, the last being Minoru Kihara in 2024.
Junichiro Koizumi, Shinjiro’s father, was the last sitting prime minister to visit Yasukuni on the Aug 15 anniversary, in 2006. Abe did so in December 2013 on the first anniversary of taking office.
CHINA HAWK
Local media reported that Takaichi had sent an offering to the shrine, as previous prime ministers have done. She did the same for a spring festival earlier this year.
