Neo-nationalism seeks strength from the gods: Yasukuni Shrine, collective memory and the Japanese press

Abstract

This article examines Japanese press coverage of Premier Koizumi’s controversial visits to Yasukuni Shrine from 2001 to 2006. The shrine memorializes war dead, including 14 Class-A Second World War criminals, and is implicated in the history issue — the unresolved legacy of Imperial Japan’s wartime history. Using critical, qualitative content analysis, the authors analyze the Japanese press coverage’s representation of historical context. Theories of the social production of news and collective memory ground their analysis and interpretation of the representations and their implications. They argue that the press coverage that contextualized the shrine’s war criminals offered critical, mnemonic representations, while those that excluded this context provided fragmented representations. The authors assess the implications of these representations for the contemporary political objective of moving Japan toward a martial state. Ultimately, the Japanese press’s capacity to facilitate debate on history issues depends upon the public coming to terms with the war’s history and legacy.