We should resolve the “asymmetry of war memorials”
NISHIKAWA Megumi / Journalist
September 30, 2024
The month of August, the anniversary of the end of the war in Japan, gives us a moment to think about war memorial services. I believe that the time has come to resolve the “asymmetry of war memorials” between Japan and other countries.
The asymmetry of war memorials means that the ceremony of offering flowers and silent prayer by foreign leaders in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior (variously called the Memorial Cenotaph for the War Dead or other names) on the occasion of states visits by foreign heads of state does not take place in Japan.
It is an important international protocol for visiting heads of state to pay their respects to those who have died in the service of their country, and to offer flowers and observe a moment of silence. In late June, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, on their state visit to the U.K., went to Westminster Abbey and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. In Japan, however, foreign heads of state cannot pay their respects to Japanese war dead, because it is considered inappropriate to visit Yasukuni Shrine, where Class A war criminals are also enshrined, and the Japanese government has not provided an alternative facility.
If such a facility were to exist, and if the U.S. president and other foreign leaders bowed their heads before the memorial, it would go a long way towards lessening the psychological burden of the families of those who died in battles in the Pacific islands and other parts of Asia, in the Battle of Okinawa, and in the Tokyo Air Raid, etc.. Those sentiments may resonate deeply with the postwar generation, who have no experience of war, but nonetheless share the same history as Japanese.
How can this issue be resolved? There are said to be three options: (1) withdraw the enshrinement of Class A war criminals from Yasukuni Shrine, (2) build a national facility, or (3) use of the Chidorigafuchi War Cemetery. The Yasukuni Shrine is negative toward the withdrawal of the enshrinement of Class A war criminals. As for the construction of a national facility, a panel was established in 2001 under Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, which concluded that “a permanent facility is necessary,” but this has been shelved.
Personally, I think that a permanent national facility should be built, but it is uncertain whether this will happen in the near future. In that case, it is realistic to use the Chidorigafuchi War Cemetery as a temporary site. The Yasukuni Shrine enshrines mainly military personnel and not all of the war dead including civilians. Moreover, it is a private religious corporation. The Chidorigafuchi War Cemetery, on the other hand, was completed in 1959 as a national, non-religious facility for all the war dead. The cemetery also houses the unclaimed remains of those who died overseas.
The National War Veterans Memorial Ceremony was held at the site in conjunction with the building’s inauguration in the presence of the Showa Emperor and Empress. Following the Emperor's speech, Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi offered his condolences, saying, “Standing in the sanctuary that symbolizes the spirit of the war dead, I sincerely pray for the repose of the souls of the war dead as they rest eternally in the soil of their homeland
This background makes it clear that the Chidorigafuchi War Cemetery is a memorial facility for all the war dead. However, Yasukuni Shrine, which wanted the cemetery to remain a“storage place” for unmarked remains, used political power in tandem with the bereaved family association to set various conditions for the construction of the cemetery, such as not inviting foreign heads to the cemetery, and allowing only unclaimed remains to be placed there (1953 memorandum). Thus, the role of the present Chidorigafuchi War Cemetery has been blurred and narrowed.
Successive prime ministers, however, have visited the Chidorigafuchi War Cemetery prior to the National War Veterans Memorial Ceremony to be held at the Budokan on August 15. This is proof that the top echelons of the Japanese government have successively recognized that the Cemetery is a national memorial facility for all the war dead, and that they consider it to form a part of the memorial ceremony that immediately follows.
We should seriously consider how unusual it is that foreign leaders to this day have been blocked from the opportunities to commemorate the Japanese war dead because of a promise made more than 70 years ago to a single religious organization. Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the war. The time has come for the Japanese people themselves to resolve this issue.
Nishikawa Megumi is a contributing editor of Mainichi Shimbun
The asymmetry of war memorials means that the ceremony of offering flowers and silent prayer by foreign leaders in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior (variously called the Memorial Cenotaph for the War Dead or other names) on the occasion of states visits by foreign heads of state does not take place in Japan.
It is an important international protocol for visiting heads of state to pay their respects to those who have died in the service of their country, and to offer flowers and observe a moment of silence. In late June, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, on their state visit to the U.K., went to Westminster Abbey and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. In Japan, however, foreign heads of state cannot pay their respects to Japanese war dead, because it is considered inappropriate to visit Yasukuni Shrine, where Class A war criminals are also enshrined, and the Japanese government has not provided an alternative facility.
If such a facility were to exist, and if the U.S. president and other foreign leaders bowed their heads before the memorial, it would go a long way towards lessening the psychological burden of the families of those who died in battles in the Pacific islands and other parts of Asia, in the Battle of Okinawa, and in the Tokyo Air Raid, etc.. Those sentiments may resonate deeply with the postwar generation, who have no experience of war, but nonetheless share the same history as Japanese.
How can this issue be resolved? There are said to be three options: (1) withdraw the enshrinement of Class A war criminals from Yasukuni Shrine, (2) build a national facility, or (3) use of the Chidorigafuchi War Cemetery. The Yasukuni Shrine is negative toward the withdrawal of the enshrinement of Class A war criminals. As for the construction of a national facility, a panel was established in 2001 under Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, which concluded that “a permanent facility is necessary,” but this has been shelved.
Personally, I think that a permanent national facility should be built, but it is uncertain whether this will happen in the near future. In that case, it is realistic to use the Chidorigafuchi War Cemetery as a temporary site. The Yasukuni Shrine enshrines mainly military personnel and not all of the war dead including civilians. Moreover, it is a private religious corporation. The Chidorigafuchi War Cemetery, on the other hand, was completed in 1959 as a national, non-religious facility for all the war dead. The cemetery also houses the unclaimed remains of those who died overseas.
The National War Veterans Memorial Ceremony was held at the site in conjunction with the building’s inauguration in the presence of the Showa Emperor and Empress. Following the Emperor's speech, Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi offered his condolences, saying, “Standing in the sanctuary that symbolizes the spirit of the war dead, I sincerely pray for the repose of the souls of the war dead as they rest eternally in the soil of their homeland
This background makes it clear that the Chidorigafuchi War Cemetery is a memorial facility for all the war dead. However, Yasukuni Shrine, which wanted the cemetery to remain a“storage place” for unmarked remains, used political power in tandem with the bereaved family association to set various conditions for the construction of the cemetery, such as not inviting foreign heads to the cemetery, and allowing only unclaimed remains to be placed there (1953 memorandum). Thus, the role of the present Chidorigafuchi War Cemetery has been blurred and narrowed.
Successive prime ministers, however, have visited the Chidorigafuchi War Cemetery prior to the National War Veterans Memorial Ceremony to be held at the Budokan on August 15. This is proof that the top echelons of the Japanese government have successively recognized that the Cemetery is a national memorial facility for all the war dead, and that they consider it to form a part of the memorial ceremony that immediately follows.
We should seriously consider how unusual it is that foreign leaders to this day have been blocked from the opportunities to commemorate the Japanese war dead because of a promise made more than 70 years ago to a single religious organization. Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the war. The time has come for the Japanese people themselves to resolve this issue.
Nishikawa Megumi is a contributing editor of Mainichi Shimbun
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
「慰霊の非対称」の解消を
西川 恵 / ジャーナリスト
2024年 9月 30日
終戦記念日の８月は慰霊について考えさせる時期であった。私は改めて日本と外国の間にある「慰霊の非対称」を解決すべき時に来ていると思う。
慰霊の非対称とは、国賓訪問に際して行われる「無名戦士の墓」（戦没者記念慰霊塔など呼称はさまざま）での外国首脳の献花・黙とうの儀式が、日本では行われていないことだ。
国賓で訪れた首脳がその国のために亡くなった人に尊崇の念を表し、献花・黙とうするのは重要な国際儀礼である。６月下旬、国賓で訪英した天皇、皇后両陛下も、ウエストミンスター寺院の無名戦士の墓に献花した。しかし日本では、国賓で来日した外国首脳は日本の戦没者を慰霊できない。Ａ級戦犯が合祀されている靖国神社に行くことは不適切と考えられ、代替する施設も日本政府が用意してないからだ。
もしそういう施設があり、米大統領をはじめ外国の首脳が深々と慰霊の前で頭を垂れたなら、太平洋の島々やアジア各地の戦闘、沖縄戦、東京大空襲などで亡くなった人々の遺族の心の屈託は軽くなるだろう。戦争体験のない戦後世代も、歴史を共有してきた日本人として深く感じるものがあると思われる。
これをどう打開するか。言われているように①Ａ級戦犯の合祀取り下げ、②国立施設の建設、③千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑―の三つがある。靖国神社は合祀取り下げに否定的だ。国立施設の建設については福田康夫官房長官のもとで2001年に懇談会が設置され、「恒久的施設が必要」との結論が出されたが、立ち消えになっている。
個人的には国立の恒久施設が建設されるべきだと思うが、実現するかどうか不透明だ。そうなると暫定的ながら、千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑を充てるのが現実的だ。靖国神社で祀っているのは軍人、軍属が中心で、全戦没者ではない。しかも民間の宗教法人である。一方の千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑は全戦没者を対象とし、国立・無宗教の施設として1959年に完成した。海外で亡くなった引き取り手のない遺骨も納められている。
この竣工式に併せ、同墓苑では昭和天皇、皇后両陛下のご臨席のもと、全国戦没者追悼式がもたれた。昭和天皇のお言葉に続いて、岸信介首相が「戦没者の精神を象徴する聖域に立ち、故国の土に抱かれて永遠の眠りに就く戦没者の冥福を心から祈念します」と哀悼の辞を述べた。
こうした経緯からも千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑は全戦没者の追悼施設であることは間違いない。
ただ墓苑を無名遺骨の「収納場所」にとどめたい靖国神社は、墓苑が建設されるに際して遺族会ともども政治力を使ってさまざまに条件をつけた。外国の元首らを招待しない、墓苑に収めるのは引き取り手のない遺骨に限る等々（1953年の覚書）。こうして性格がぼやかされ、狭められたのが現在の千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑である。
しかし歴代首相は８月15日に武道館で行われる全国戦没者追悼式の前に、千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑を参拝している。日本政府のトップが墓苑は全戦没者の追悼施設であることを認め、その直後の追悼式とセットで考えている証左である。
70年以上前の一宗教法人との約束に拘って、今日に至るまで外国の首脳が日本人の戦没者を慰霊する機会を封じていることがいかに異常なことか、真剣に考えるべきだと思われる。来年は終戦80年。日本人が自ら解決すべき時がきている。
筆者は毎日新聞客員編集委員
慰霊の非対称とは、国賓訪問に際して行われる「無名戦士の墓」（戦没者記念慰霊塔など呼称はさまざま）での外国首脳の献花・黙とうの儀式が、日本では行われていないことだ。
国賓で訪れた首脳がその国のために亡くなった人に尊崇の念を表し、献花・黙とうするのは重要な国際儀礼である。６月下旬、国賓で訪英した天皇、皇后両陛下も、ウエストミンスター寺院の無名戦士の墓に献花した。しかし日本では、国賓で来日した外国首脳は日本の戦没者を慰霊できない。Ａ級戦犯が合祀されている靖国神社に行くことは不適切と考えられ、代替する施設も日本政府が用意してないからだ。
もしそういう施設があり、米大統領をはじめ外国の首脳が深々と慰霊の前で頭を垂れたなら、太平洋の島々やアジア各地の戦闘、沖縄戦、東京大空襲などで亡くなった人々の遺族の心の屈託は軽くなるだろう。戦争体験のない戦後世代も、歴史を共有してきた日本人として深く感じるものがあると思われる。
これをどう打開するか。言われているように①Ａ級戦犯の合祀取り下げ、②国立施設の建設、③千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑―の三つがある。靖国神社は合祀取り下げに否定的だ。国立施設の建設については福田康夫官房長官のもとで2001年に懇談会が設置され、「恒久的施設が必要」との結論が出されたが、立ち消えになっている。
個人的には国立の恒久施設が建設されるべきだと思うが、実現するかどうか不透明だ。そうなると暫定的ながら、千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑を充てるのが現実的だ。靖国神社で祀っているのは軍人、軍属が中心で、全戦没者ではない。しかも民間の宗教法人である。一方の千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑は全戦没者を対象とし、国立・無宗教の施設として1959年に完成した。海外で亡くなった引き取り手のない遺骨も納められている。
この竣工式に併せ、同墓苑では昭和天皇、皇后両陛下のご臨席のもと、全国戦没者追悼式がもたれた。昭和天皇のお言葉に続いて、岸信介首相が「戦没者の精神を象徴する聖域に立ち、故国の土に抱かれて永遠の眠りに就く戦没者の冥福を心から祈念します」と哀悼の辞を述べた。
こうした経緯からも千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑は全戦没者の追悼施設であることは間違いない。
ただ墓苑を無名遺骨の「収納場所」にとどめたい靖国神社は、墓苑が建設されるに際して遺族会ともども政治力を使ってさまざまに条件をつけた。外国の元首らを招待しない、墓苑に収めるのは引き取り手のない遺骨に限る等々（1953年の覚書）。こうして性格がぼやかされ、狭められたのが現在の千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑である。
しかし歴代首相は８月15日に武道館で行われる全国戦没者追悼式の前に、千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑を参拝している。日本政府のトップが墓苑は全戦没者の追悼施設であることを認め、その直後の追悼式とセットで考えている証左である。
70年以上前の一宗教法人との約束に拘って、今日に至るまで外国の首脳が日本人の戦没者を慰霊する機会を封じていることがいかに異常なことか、真剣に考えるべきだと思われる。来年は終戦80年。日本人が自ら解決すべき時がきている。
筆者は毎日新聞客員編集委員
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟