Denial of History? Yasukuni Visits as Signaling

Abstract

Under what conditions would Japanese leaders visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine and why? Previous studies have focused primarily on the domestic benefits and effects of such visits, claiming that leaders employ visits to follow their own conservative ideology and gain domestic political support. Given the harsh international criticism that tends to ensue, however, political leaders should also consider the cost and international effects of such visits. This study proposes three necessary conditions for such visits: a conservative ruling party, a government enjoying high popularity, and Japan's perception of a Chinese threat. With regard to the latter, a security threat from China has allowed Japan to use these visits as a credible signal of its resolve against China. Comparative analyses of Japanese cabinets after the mid-1980s support this argument.

Korean NGOs and Reconciliation with Japan

“…Scholars of domestic politics explain departures from structural expectations by studying how national leaders mismanage historical controversies out of personal rather than national interests (Kim 2011). Japanese leaders allegedly disrespect history in the ideological pursuit of more hawkish foreign policies (Fujita and Kusano 2020), while Korean leaders allegedly disregard geopolitics and manipulate history for popular support (You and Kim 2020). News media portrayed Abe and Moon as archetypal cases of such leadership; as a result, Koreans despised Abe, Japanese distrusted Moon, and both countries seemed to “give up” on the other while those two leaders were in office 1…”