Tokyo Trial debunks notorious Yasukuni Shrine's inverted narrative

The historical picture of the trial scene at the International Military Tribunal of the Far East Photo: Courtesy of XiangThe Tokyo Trial delivered a historic verdict on Japan's war crimes and its Class-A war criminals. Yet inside Yushukan in Japan's notorious Yasukuni Shrine, a long-running campaign has unfolded under the guise of a "museum": through semantic sleight of hand and a series of carefully crafted distortions, it openly denies the Tokyo Trial and seeks to rewrite history while glorifying militarism.Xiang Longwan, honorary director of Center for the Tokyo Trial Studies of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and son of Xiang Zhejun, a Chinese prosecutor at the Tokyo Trial, has once visited this "history whitewashing museum." In an interview with the Global Times, he pointed out that the Tokyo Trial, through its irrefutable judicial evidence, completely negated the aggressive logic of Japanese militarism, and that such "play of words" collapses utterly in the face of historical justice. The Yushukan Museum stands in the northeastern corner of the notorious Yasukuni Shrine. "Yasukuni Shrine has outright rejected this just trial, which also represents a judgment of civilization. The Yushukan makes no mention about the two-and-a-half-year trial - a landmark just ruling that shaped the post-war global order, arbitrarily erasing this pivotal historical event from its records," Xiang told the Global Times.The Yushukan's distorted historical views have also drawn criticism from international observers. Gianni Simone, an Italian-born writer who has lived in Japan for a long time, wrote after visiting Yushukan that people often overlooked "the poisonous role played by the Yushukan." He said that "careful reading reveals a clear bias toward playing down Japan's acts of aggression and colonial rule."The notorious Yasukuni Shrine issued the Yushukan catalogue. This catalogue is a historical exhibition catalogue, pictorial collection, and explanatory material compiled aro...