According to Japanese television news on August 13th, Japan's Liberal Democratic Party chairperson Suzuki Shunichi and the 'four-wheel car' within the party are coordinating a group visit to the Yasukuni Shrine on September 15th, the anniversary of Japan's defeat.
According to several relevant people, Shinzo Suzuki, Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party, Yoshiko Arimura, President of the General Affairs Committee, Heiichi Kobayashi, Chairman of the Political Affairs Committee, and Yasuhito Nishimura, Chairman of the Election Policy Committee, are coordinating efforts to visit the Yasukuni Shrine together on the 15th.
Although some senior members of the Liberal Democratic Party have visited the Yasukuni Shrine in previous years, it is rare for several senior party members to visit the shrine together.
Although some members of the LDP said to the “Zeit Shimbun” that “this is just a visit in the capacity of LDP members,” these four positions are at the core of the Japanese LDP. Their status is second only to that of the party president. If this collective visit takes place, it will set an extremely bad precedent.
On the other hand, Japanese media reported that several high-ranking government officials stated that 'no preparations have been made yet' regarding Prime Minister Yukie Akamine's visit to the shrine, and they believed that she would most likely not attend the ceremony. However, some suggested that 'her decision should still be made in the morning,' indicating that a final judgment is expected to be made near the time of the visit.
