Koizumi Thanks Tojo et al at Yasukuni Shrine

To celebrate the surrender of Japan in WW2, the war of which Japan was the greatest victim, Prime Minister Elvis Koizumi worshipped at the shrine this morning. Basically Japan is telling China and Korea to go to hell. It's an internal affair of Japan, the victim of WW2. One will note that the right-wing emperor worshippers and thugs which the Japanese government says has nothing to do with Elvis' visit was there attacking protesters as usual.

Nationalist supporters of the shrine holding banners proclaiming solidarity with the emperor stood out among the crowds paying their respects at the shrine, where TV cameras and reporters had awaited the prime minister's arrival.

A group of right-wingers attacked a van carrying opponents of the shrine visit, some throwing rocks and others banging on the vehicle with umbrellas. Riot police moved in and the van left

Of course, as Elvis explained to the Australian Prime Minister (Downer) it's all a cultural misunderstanding. You see, Japan is special and never wrong in any way. Anyone who thinks it may be wrong simply doesn't understand Japan, which is ok, because it is impossible for foreigners to understand.

(The shrine, which played a central role in the state Shinto religion that mobilized the nation to fight in the name of a divine emperor, considers 14 wartime leaders convicted by an Allied tribunal as Class A war criminals to be "martyrs"---quoted from the Washington Post)

There is no truth to any rumor which may claim that Japan's WW2 ally, Adolf Hitler, will be inducted into the shrine, because as we all know, the Nazi-Japan alliance was one of convenience, not shared ideals. Sig Heil! Bonzai!