The ghosts of the Imperial Japanese Army are being reborn in the form of its self-defense forces, which Tokyo is constantly developing, and Japan’s “aggressive ambitions” will lead humanity to “great trouble,” an article by the DPRK Central News Agency (KCNA) says.
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KCNA in a commentary criticized the fact that the former commander of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces Navy became the head of the Yasukuni Shrine, which in Asian countries is often associated with Japanese militarism. The agency says that in a country where worship in this temple for the repose of the souls of “the largest war criminals” has become a “political tradition,” this carries special meaning.
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At the Yasukuni Shrine, the souls of all the warriors who gave their lives for the “emperor and great Japan” are worshiped. There are memorial plaques containing the names of the 2.5 million soldiers and officers who died for Japan in various wars, and they also include the names of 14 war criminals of World War II.
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According to KCNA, supporters of “aggression” in Japan are reviving extreme nationalism in society, and prayer at the Yasukuni Shinto Shrine is aimed at “implementing the militarization and revanchist ambitions” of Japan. Thus, KCNA writes, the ghosts of these war criminals become “spiritual teachers” for modern officials, and all this under the leadership of the former commander of the Navy Self-Defense Forces.
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“The reality in Japan is that the ghosts of the “imperial army”, which in the last century embarked on aggression and robbery, are openly being reborn in the face of “self-defense units” – the modern “imperial army”, imbued to the bones with militaristic poison… All who love peace, “must increase vigilance against the revival of the ghosts of the ‘imperial army’ in a dark corner of a Shinto shrine,” the commentary said.
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The agency notes that Japan is “embellishing” its past crimes by “distorting history” and has been relentlessly expanding its self-defense forces into an “offensive military force” with state-of-the-art weapons, citing an “increasing threat” from surrounding countries.
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KCNA warns that Japan’s “aggressive ambitions” are and will remain unchanged, and connivance with them will obviously lead humanity “to great trouble.”
