© 2008 The Author Journal Compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd Religion Compass 3/1 (2009): 58–71, 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2008.00125.x Disputes over Yasukuni Shrine and Its War Dead in Contemporary Japan Michiaki Okuyama* Nanzan University Abstract Yasukuni Shrine, a Shinto sanctuary located in Tokyo, has become the focus of a recent dispute in Japan, and a source of criticism against Japanese politicians by neighboring Asian countries. Especially since the former Prime Minister Koizumi Jun’ichiró visited Yasukuni once every year during the period of his administration (2001–2006), arguments have been accumulated both in Japan and abroad. This essay tries to review some of the arguments over the war dead and war memory in modern Japanese history, referring also to more specific issues such as the Class A war criminals and Li Ying’s documentary film Yasukuni (2007). Former Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Jun’ichiró, who was in office from 2001 to 2006, is known for his uncompromising stance in patronizing Yasukuni Shrine. Once every year Koizumi visited Yasukuni as Prime Minister, an action that, on one hand, caused harsh criticism among Chinese, Koreans, and also some Japanese, but on the other hand stimulated the growth of nationalism and patriotism not only among conservative Japanese but others as well. This situation has brought into relief the polarization of opinions among Japanese people over their country’s modern history in general, and over the war dead that resulted from Japanese military aggression in Asia and the Pacific regions in particular. During the Koizumi administration, both journalistic and academic discussions were conducted in Japan over Yasukuni Shrine and the war dead in the context of history, sociology, religious studies, and international relations. In reviewing some of these discussions, I find there emerge differing ramifications according to the interests of each advocate. At the most concrete level, there has developed scholarly and journalistic research that delves into the history of Yasukuni Shrine itself and the surrounding political issues before and after World War II. These enquiries have been clarifying Yasukuni Shrine’s multifaceted history until today. 1 On the issue of the war dead, Japanese people should have developed their own methods of commemoration once they were freed from the national monopoly of them until the end of war. If we solely focus on Yasukuni Shrine, we may