Yasukuni Shrine

The shrine lists the names, origins, birthdates and places of death of 2,466,532 people. Among those are 1,068 convicted war criminals from the Pacific War, fourteen of whom were convicted with Class A crimes at the Tokyo Trial. A memorial at the honden (main hall) building commemorates anyone who died on behalf of Japan and so includes Koreans and Taiwanese who served Japan at the time. The Chinreisha ("Spirit Pacifying Shrine") building is a shrine built to inter the souls of all the people who died during World War II, regardless of their nationality.

The enshrinement of an extensive number of war criminals, as well as the shrine's historical association with State Shinto, has made the shrine highly controversial within East Asia, particularly amongst victims of Japanese imperialism. Emperor Hirohito, under whom Japan fought during World War II, visited the shrine eight times between the end of the war and 1975. However, he thereafter boycotted the shrine due to his displeasure over the enshrinement of top convicted Japanese war criminals. His successors, Akihito and Naruhito, have never visited the shrine. The Japanese Government's involvement with the shrine remains highly controversial, with the most recent Japanese Prime Minister to visit the shrine while in office being the conservative Shinzo Abe in 2013.

History

Foundation for the dead in the Boshin War and Meiji Restoration

The site for the Yasukuni Shrine, originally named Tōkyō Shōkonsha (東京招魂社, "shrine to summon the souls"), was chosen by order of the Meiji Emperor. The shrine was established in 1869, in the wake of the Boshin War, in order to honor the souls of those who died fighting for the Emperor. It initially served as the "apex" of a network of similar shrines throughout Japan that had originally been established for the souls of various feudal lords' retainers, and which continued to enshrine local individuals who died in the Emperor's service.

Following the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion, the Emperor had 6,959 souls of war dead enshrined at Tōkyō Shōkonsha. In 1879, the shrine was renamed Yasukuni Jinja. The name Yasukuni, quoted from the phrase "吾以靖國也" in the classical-era Chinese text Zuo Zhuan (Scroll 6, 23rd Year of Duke Xi), literally means "Pacifying the Nation" and was chosen by the Meiji Emperor. The name is formally written as 靖國神社, using the kyūjitai character forms common before the end of the Pacific War.

• Among the enshrined are Yoshida Shōin, Sakamoto Ryōma, Takasugi Shinsaku, Nakaoka Shintarō, Takechi Hanpeita, Sanai Hashimoto, and Ōmura Masujirō, who contributed to the Tokugawa shogunate's overthrow and the Meiji Restoration during the Bakumatsu period in Japan. In contrast, the shrine does not enshrine the war dead of shogunate retainers such as the soldiers of the former Shogunate forces, the Ouetsu Reppan Domei, the Shinsengumi and the Shogitai.
• Although Saigō Takamori, Eto Shinpei and Maebara Issei made a contribution to the Meiji Restoration, they were not enshrined because they revolted against the Meiji government after that.

From First Sino-Japanese War to Second Sino-Japanese War

The enshrinement of war dead at Yasukuni was transferred to military control in 1887. As the Empire of Japan expanded, Okinawans, Ainu and Koreans were enshrined at Yasukuni alongside ethnic Japanese. Emperor Meiji refused to allow the enshrinement of Taiwanese due to the organized resistance that followed the Treaty of Shimonoseki, but Taiwanese were later admitted due to the need to conscript them during World War II. In 1932, two Sophia University (Jōchi Daigaku) Catholic students refused visit to Yasukuni Shrine on the grounds that it was contrary to their religious convictions.

In 1936, the Society for the Propagation of the Faith (Propaganda Fide) of the Roman Curia issued the Instruction Pluries Instanterque, and approved visits to Yasukuni Shrine as an expression of patriotic motive. This response allowed the Jesuit university to avoid potential repercussions, though it aligned the institution with the prevailing national policy.

During World War II and the GHQ control period

By the 1930s, the military government sought centralized state control over memorialization of the war dead, giving Yasukuni a more central role. Enshrinements at Yasukuni were originally announced in the government's official gazette so that the souls could be treated as national heroes. In April 1944, this practice ended and the identities of the spirits were concealed from the general public.

The shrine was used as a focal point for fostering military and civilian morale during the war era, often emphasizing dedication to the Emperor. Enshrinement at Yasukuni signified meaning and nobility to those who died for their country. During the final days of the war, it was common for soldiers sent on kamikaze suicide missions to say that they would "meet again at Yasukuni" following their death. Some wartime military songs referenced Yasukuni, such as "Doki no Sakura" (同期の櫻) and "Calming the Country" (國の鎮め). At that time, however, the coalition saw that Japan, which was in a tight corner, was using Yasukuni for propaganda purposes. During wartime, Yasukuni Shrine was used as a symbolic motivator for soldiers, with some references in military rhetoric linking enshrinement to notions of sacrifice.

After World War II, the US-led Occupation Authorities (known as GHQ for General Headquarters) issued the Shinto Directive, which ordered the separation of church and state and forced Yasukuni Shrine to become either a secular government institution or a religious institution independent from the Japanese government. Yasukuni Shrine has been privately funded and operated since 1946, when it was elected to become an individual religious corporation, independent of the Association of Shinto Shrines.

Some reports suggest that GHQ considered repurposing the Yasukuni Shrine grounds, but the plan was never implemented. However, Father Bruno Bitter of the Roman Curia and Father Patrick Byrne of Maryknoll insisted to the GHQ that honoring their war dead is the right and duty of citizens everywhere, and the GHQ decided not to destroy the Yasukuni shrine. In 1951, the Roman Curia reaffirmed the 1936 ruling that Catholic visits to Yasukuni Shrine could be acceptable as a patriotic gesture rather than a religious act.

Post-war issues and controversies

Enshrinement of war criminals

In 1956, the shrine authorities and the Ministry of Health and Welfare established a system for the government to share information with the shrine regarding deceased war veterans. By April 1959, most of Japan's war dead who were not already enshrined at Yasukuni were enshrined in this manner. War criminals prosecuted by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East were initially excluded from enshrinement after the war. In 1951, government authorities began considering their enshrinement, along with providing veterans' benefits to their survivors, following the signature of the Treaty of San Francisco. In 1954, government directed some local memorial shrines to accept the enshrinement of war criminals from their area.

No convicted war criminals were enshrined at Yasukuni until after the parole of the last remaining incarcerated war criminals in 1958. In 1959, the Health and Welfare Ministry began forwarding information on Class B and Class C war criminals (those not involved in the planning, preparation, initiation, or waging of the war) to Yasukuni Shrine. These individuals were gradually enshrined between 1959 and 1967, often without permission from surviving family members.

In 1966, information on fourteen men who had been charged with Class A war crimes was forwarded to the shrine. Eleven were convicted on these charges, one was convicted of Class B war crimes, and two died before completing trial. This group included the prime ministers and top generals from the war era. In 1970, the shrine passed a resolution to enshrine these individuals. The timing for their enshrinement was left to the discretion of head priest Fujimaro Tsukuba, who delayed the enshrinement until his death in March 1978.

In 1978, his successor Nagayoshi Matsudaira, who rejected the Tokyo war crimes tribunal's verdicts, enshrined these fourteen convicted or alleged war criminals in a secret ceremony. Records indicate that after the enshrinement of convicted war criminals in 1978, no Japanese emperor has visited the shrine. In 1979, the details of the enshrinement of war criminals became public, but there was minimal controversy about the issue for several years. No Emperor of Japan has visited Yasukuni since 1975.

The head-priest Junna Nakata at Honzen-ji Temple (of the Shingon sect Daigo-ha) requested the pontiff Pope Paul VI to say a Mass for the repose of the souls of all people in Yasukuni, which would include the 1,618 men condemned as Class A, B and C war criminals, and he promised to do so. In 1980, Pope John Paul II complied, and a Mass was held in St. Peter's Basilica for all the fallen civilians and fallen dead worshiped in the shrine.

Statements by the shrine museum

The museum and website of the Yasukuni Shrine have made statements criticizing the United States for "convincing" the Empire of Japan to launch the attack on Pearl Harbor in order to justify the Pacific War, as well as claiming that Japan went to war with the intention of creating a "Co-Prosperity Sphere" for all Asians.

In 2026, the shrine banned cosplay and the wearing of military-related attire on its premises, with exemptions for members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and foreign military forces, as part of efforts to maintain the "serenity and dignity" of the site.

Chronology

See details on related controversy in Controversies surrounding Yasukuni Shrine

• 1862
  • December — (Tenporeki, or Tenpō calendar): The Shinsōsai (神葬祭) or Shōkonsai (招魂祭) for the Junnan shishi (殉難志士) was held for the first time at the Shindō Sōsaijō Reimeisha (神道葬祭場霊明社; current Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine) at Higashiyama in Kyoto. The Saijin (deities) enshrined in the Shindō Sōsaijō Reimeisha are three kami including Kikurihime no Kami (菊理媛神).
• 1868
  • January — (Tenpō calendar): The Boshin War started and continued until May 1869 (Tenpō calendar)
  • April 20 — (Tenpō calendar): The tasshi (proclamation) by the Tōkaidō Senpō Sōtokufu (東海道先鋒総督府; Tōkaidō spearhead governor) ordered the creation of a list of the war dead.
  • April 28 (Tenpō calendar): The tasshi by the Tōkaidō Senpō Sōtokufu decided to hold Shōkonsai (招魂祭)
  • May 10 (Tenpō calendar): The Dajokan Fukoku (Proclamation or Decree by the Grand Council of State) ordered the enshrinement of the war dead at Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto (Current Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine).
  • May 28 (Tenpō calendar): The tasshi by the Gyōseikan (行政官; administrative officers) ordered submission of the list of the war dead to Jingikan (神祇官; Bureau of Rites)
  • June 2 (Tenpō calendar): The Shōkonsai was held at Nishi-no-maru ōhiroma of Edo Castle
  • July 8 (Tenpō calendar): The tasshi by the Jingikan (神祇官; Bureau of Rites) ordered the holding of the Shōkonsai.
  • July 10–11 (Tenpō calendar): The Shōkonsai was held at the Katō Sōrenjo (河東操錬場) in Kyoto.
• 1869
  • July 12 (Tenpō calendar): The tasshi by the Gunmukan ordered the establishment of Tōkyō Shōkonsha
  • July 29: The establishment of Tōkyō Shōkonsha: Emperor Meiji gave Tōkyō Shōkonsha an estate worth 5000 koku (nominally 10,000 koku) as eitai saishiryō (永代祭粢料).
  • July: The 1st Gōshisai (合祀祭) (a festival held for enshrining the war dead together) (Number of newly enshrined: 3,588)
• 1870: The Shōkonsha horse trackrace was established as the first Japanese racetrack in the country along the outside of the shrine approach
• 1872 May 10 (Tenpo calendar): The establishment of the honden
• 1874
  • February: The Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1874)
  • Emperor Meiji paid respect at the Yasukuni shrine. Since then, royal visit had been paid intermittently until 1975
  • August: The 2nd Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 192)
  • November: The 3rd Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 16)
• 1875
  • February 22: Rinjisai (臨時祭; Special festival)
  • February: The 4th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 12)
  • July: 5th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 1)
• 1876 January: The 6th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 1)
• 1877
  • January: The 7th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 131)
  • February: Seinan War
  • November 14: Rinjisai
  • November: The 8th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 6,505)
• 1878
  • July: The 9th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 160)
  • November: The 10th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 4)
• 1879
  • June 4: The shrine was registered to Bekkaku-kanpeisya and renamed Yasukuni shrine by Dajōan.
  • June: The 11th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 266)
• 1882
  • February: The inauguration of Yūshūkan military and war museum
  • November: The 12th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 12)
• 1883 May: The 13th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 80)
• 1884 November: The 14th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 47)
• 1885 May: The 15th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 6)
• 1888
  • May: The 16th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 607)
  • November: The 17th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 18)
• 1889
  • May: The 18th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 1,460)
  • November: The 19th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 61)
• 1891 November: The 20th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 1,272)
• 1893 November: The 21st Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 80)
• 1894 August: The First Sino-Japanese War started and continued until April 1895.
• 1895
  • November 17: Rinjitaisai (臨時大祭; Special grand festival)
  • November: The 22nd Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 1,496)
• 1896
  • May 6: Rinjitaisai
  • May: The 23rd Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 143)
  • November: The 24th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 97)
• 1898
  • November 5: Rinjitaisai
  • November: The 25th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 11,383)
  • : The closure of the horse racetrack
• 1899
  • May: The 26th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 340)
  • November: The 27th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshineed: 83)
• 1900
  • May: The 28th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 35)
  • May: The Boxer Rebellion (to September)
• 1901
  • October 31: Rinjitaisai
  • October: The establishment of the haiden
  • November: 29th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 1,282)
• 1904
  • February: The Russo-Japanese War (until September 1904)
  • May: The 30th Rinjitaisai
  • May: The 31st Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 30,883)
• 1906
  • May 2: Rinjitaisai
  • May: The 32nd Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 29,960)
• 1907
  • May 3: Rinjitaisai
  • May: The 33rd Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 24,657)
• 1908
  • May 5: Rinjitaisai
  • May: The 34th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 1,943)
• 1909
  • May 5: Rinjitaisai
  • May: The 35th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 817)
• 1910
  • May 5: Rinjitaisai
  • May: The 36th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 141)
• 1911
  • May 5: Rinjitaisai
  • May: The 37th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 631, Total: 118,499)
• 1914 July: World War I (to October 1918)
• 1919 May: The festival marking the 50th anniversary of the foundation
• 1920 March: The Nikolayevsk Incident
• 1923 September: The Great Kanto earthquake
• 1928 May: The Jinan Incident
• 1931 March: The Shōkonshi (招魂祠) of the Fukuba family was transferred to inside the Yasukuni precinct as Motomiya.
• 1932: The incident between Sophia University (Jochi Daigaku) and the Yasukuni Shrine occurred, when a student refused visit to the Yasukuni shrine with the rest of the school on the ground that it was contrary to his religious convictions.
• 1936: The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (Propaganda Fide) of the Roman Curia issued the Instruction Pluries Instanterque, and approved visit to the Yasukuni shrine as an expression of patriotic motive
• 1938 April: Establishment of the new Shōkonsaitei
• 1937 July: The Second Sino-Japanese War
• 1941 December 8: Pacific War (continued to 1945)
• 1945
  • August 15: Hirohito gave a recorded radio address across the Empire on August 15. In the radio address, called the Gyokuon-hōsō, he announced the surrender of Japan to the Allies.
  • October: The General Headquarters (GHQ) planned to burn down the Yasukuni Shrine and build a dog race course in its place. However, Father Bruno Bitter of the Roman Curia and Father Patrick Byrne of Maryknoll insisted to GHQ that honoring their war dead is the right and duty of citizens everywhere, and GHQ decided not to destroy the Yasukuni shrine.
  • November 19: Rinji Dai-Shōkonsai
  • December: The Shinto Directive
• 1946
  • May 1: The 67th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 26,969)
  • September: Yasukuni Shrine was registered as a Religious Corporation of Japan.
• 1947
  • The Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 59,337)
  • July 13: The 1st Mitama Matsuri。
• 1951
  • April 3: The enforcement of the Religious Corporation Act
  • October 18: The first Reitaisai after WWII
  • The Roman Curia reconfirmed the Instruction Pluries Instanterque
• 1952 April 28: The Treaty of San Francisco came into force.
• 1955
  • August 14: A memorial service was held for 540 suicide victims after the end of the Pacific war.
  • October 17: Rinjitaisai
• 1956: Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 112,609)
• 1957: Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 470,010)
• 1958: Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 217,536)
• 1959
  • April 8: Rinjitaisai
  • April: Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 346 dead including the class B and C war criminals who died from the death sentence execution)
  • October 4: Gōshisai (Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa and Prince Nagahisa Kitashirakawa)
  • October: Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 479 dead including the class B and C war criminals who died from the death sentence execution)
  • November 5: Taisai (festival) marking the 90th anniversary of the foundation
• 1960 August 15: Asia-Taiheiyō Sensō Junkokusya Kenshō Ireisai (アジア・太平洋戦争殉国者顕彰慰霊祭) (the memorial service to honor the war dead in the Asia-Pacific War)
• 1964 August 15: Holding of a government-sponsored memorial ceremony for Japan's war dead (the ceremony has been held at the Budokan since 1965)
• 1965
  • July: The establishment of Chinreisha
  • October 19: Rinjitaisai
• 1969 October 19: The Taisai (annual main festival) marking the 100th anniversary of the foundation was held, and the Ikōshu (遺稿集) (Collection of literary remains of the war dead in the Greater East Asia War (Pacific War) was issued as a commemorative publication in 1973.
• 1972 March 13: The establishment of Reijibo Hōanden (霊璽簿奉安殿)
• 1975
  • August 15: Takeo Miki became the first prime minister to visit the shrine on August 15, the anniversary of the Japanese surrender. He visited in a solely private capacity and underscored this by not using an official vehicle, bringing other public officials or using his title as prime minister. Similar visits continued without arousing international protests even after the enshrinement of war criminals became publicly known.
  • November 21: Hirohito visited the Yasukuni Shrine. Since then, there has not been another imperial visit to the shrine because of his displeasure over the enshrinement of convicted war criminals.
  • The head-priest at the Honsenji (the Shingon sect Daigo-ha) Junna Nakata hoped that the pontiff Pope Paul VI might say a Mass for the repose of the souls of the 1,618 men condemned as Class A, B and C war criminals, and the Pope promised to say the Mass requested of him but died in 1978 without saying the Mass.
• 1976 June 22: The establishment of the Eirei ni kotaeru kai (英霊にこたえる会; Society for Honoring the Glorious War Dead)
• 1978 October 17: Gōshisai was held to enshrine 14 dead who died from the death penalty execution of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East or died in connection with the Tribunal. Since then, the Yasukuni shrine has used the designation Shōwa Junnansya (昭和殉難者; Martyrs of Shōwa).
• 1980
  • May 22: Pope John Paul II kept Pope Paul VI's word, and the Mass for the fallen civilians and fallen dead worshiped in the shrine including the unofficial 1,618 war criminals of Classes A, B and C took place in St. Peter's Basilica. Nakata attended the Mass, and presented the Pope with an eight-foot high replica of the Daigoji temple's five-story pagoda; inside the replica were memorial tablets Nakata had personally made for all 1,618 war criminals. The Pope blessed the replica pagoda but took no special interest in it.
  • November 16: The establishment of Yasukuni Jinja Hōsankai (靖国神社奉賛会)
• 1985
  • August 15: Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone paid his respects at the Yasukuni shrine, which initiated criticism by People's Republic of China for the first time. The criticism of Nakasone's action was so intense that neither he nor his several immediate successors visited the shrine again.
  • September: The 80th anniversary commemorating and honoring the Russo-Japanese War dead (日露戦争役80年慰霊顕彰祭)
• 1989 January: Taisai (festival) marking the 120th anniversary of the foundation
• 1996 Prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto paid his respects at the Yasukuni shrine in order to fulfill a promise to a childhood mentor.
• 1998 December: The disbandment of Yasukuni Jinja Hōsankai (靖国神社奉賛会) and reorganization of Yasukuni Jinja Sukei Hōsankai (靖国神社崇敬奉賛会)
• 2001
  • July 18: The Asahi Shimbun reported that the South Korean government was reclaiming spirit tablets of Korean enshrined in the Yasukuni shrine even though Yasukuni shrine houses only Symbolic Registry of Divinities (霊璽簿, Reijibo) (former Saishinbo (祭神簿)) and spirit tablets do not exist.
  • August 13: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who ran against Ryutaro Hashimoto for the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party in 2001, made a campaign pledge to visit the shrine on an annual basis regardless of the criticism it would cause, which won him support among nationalists and helped him become prime minister from 2001 to 2006. He paid his respect at the Yasukuni shrine on August 13, 2001, as a Prime Minister for the first time in 5 years since the last Hashimoto's visit. This and following Koizumi's annual visits drew extensive criticism from other East-Asian countries, particularly the People's Republic of China, where the visits stoked anti-Japanese sentiment and influenced power struggles between pro-Japanese and anti-Japanese leaders within the Chinese Communist Party. The Japanese government officially viewed the visits by Koizumi as private visits in an individual capacity to express respect and gratitude to the many people who lost their lives in the war, and not for the sake of war criminals or to challenge the findings of the Tokyo war crimes tribunal.
• 2002
  • April 21: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid respect at the Yasukuni shrine.
  • July 13: The inauguration of the current Yūshūkan
• 2003 January 14: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid respect at the Yasukuni shrine.
• 2004
  • January 1: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid respect at the Yasukuni shrine.
  • September: The establishment of new "Sanshūden"
• 2005
  • January 5: A Yasukuni shrine official said "the shrine has come under intense cyber attack, with its Web site barraged by e-mails believed to come from China since September 2004." The shrine also said on its official web site "These attacks on the Yasukuni Shrine can be taken as not only attacks on the 2.5 million souls who gave their lives for the sake of the country but are also a malicious challenge to Japan. We would like to let the people [of Japan] know the Yasukuni Shrine is under attack, which is a dirty act of terrorism that negates the order of Internet technology and society."
  • June 14: About fifty relatives of the war dead of Taiwan visited the Yasukuni shrine for the ceremony to remove spirits of Taiwanese indigenous soldiers, but canceled it due to sound trucks (gaisensha, 街宣車) and requests from the police.
  • October 12: A brief ceremony attended by priests of the Yasukuni shrine, representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and officials from the embassy of South Korea was held, and the Pukkwan Victory Monument Hokkan-Taisyō-Hi (北関大捷碑) was turned over to officials from South Korea, who returned it to its original location, which is now in North Korea.
  • October 17: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid respect at the Yasukuni shrine.
• 2006
  • August 15: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid respect at the Yasukuni shrine on August 15 (End of the Pacific War Day) for the first time in 21 years since Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone's visit on August 15.
  • October 12: The Motomiya and Chinreisha became open to the public (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
• 2007 June 7: Former leader of Taiwan Lee Teng-Hui paid respect at the Yasukuni shrine to honor his senior brother who died as a Japanese soldier.
• 2008 December 24: The Yasukuni official website was cracked by unknown hackers, the homepage content replaced, and the China national flag appeared once during this time.
• 2009 August 11: The Republic of China (Taiwan) Legislative Yuan Aboriginal Atayal member Ciwas Ali and about 50 other Taiwanese indigenous members protested in front of the haiden of Yasukuni Shrine in an effort to remove the enshrined spirits of Taiwanese indigenous soldiers who died fighting for the Japanese army during Pacific War, as well as suing Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for visiting Yasukuni Shrine, and injured Yasukuni officers; then Japanese police officers were dispatched.
• 2010 August 15: Longstanding official visit to the Yasukuni shrine by the ministers of state discontinued until 2012.
• 2011
  • December 26: The shinmon (神門) was set on fire by a Chinese man.
  • May 14 : President of the World Uyghur Congress Rebiya Kadeer visited the Yasukuni Shrine
  • August 15: The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Yuichiro Hata and the National Public Safety Commission Jin Matsubara (Minister of State for Special Missions) paid respects at the Yasukuni Shrine as state ministers for the first time since the Democratic Party of Japan assumed the reins of government.
• 2013
  • April: The Minister of Finance Tarō Asō, the National Public Safety Commission Keiji Furuya, the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Yoshitaka Shindo, and the Minister of State for Regulatory Reform Tomomi Inada paid their respects at the Yasukuni shrine during an annual spring festival ceremony.
  • August 15: Three cabinet members, Keiji Furuya, Yoshitaka Shindo, and Tomomi Inada, paid their respects at the Yasukuni shrine.
  • September 21: A Korean resident of Japan threatened to commit arson at Yasukuni shrine, and was arrested by Police.
  • December 26: Prime Minister Shinzō Abe made a visit to Yasukuni Shrine and Chinreisha. The visit sparked admonition from the Chinese government, which called Abe's visits to Yasukuni "an effort to glorify the Japanese militaristic history of external invasion and colonial rule ... and to challenge the outcome of World War II," as well as regret from Russia. The US embassy in Tokyo said it was disappointed with Abe's actions and that his visit would exacerbate tensions with Japan's neighbours. The United States urged Japan to improve strained relations with neighboring countries in the aftermath of Abe's controversial visit to Yasukuni Shrine. South Korea's culture minister, Yoo Jin-ryong, criticized Abe by saying that his visit "hurts not only the ties between South Korea and Japan, but also fundamentally damages the stability and co-operation in north-east Asia." In an official statement, Abe explained that he wished to "report before the souls of the war dead how my administration has worked for one year and to renew the pledge that Japan must never wage a war again. It is not my intention at all to hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people."
• 2014
  • January: A poll by the conservative-leaning Sankei Shimbun found that only 38.1% of respondents approved of the most recent visit by Abe, while 53% disapproved, a majority of whom cited harm to Japan's foreign relations as their reason. At the same time, 67.7% of respondents said they were not personally convinced by Chinese and Korean criticism of the visit. However, another poll in 2015 by Genron NPO found that 15.7% of respondents disapproved of visits in general by Prime Ministers while 66% of respondents saw no problem, particularly if they were done in private (which was a decrease from 68.2% the year before).
  • April: Canadian singer Justin Bieber paid a visit to the war shrine. After coming under heavy criticism from Chinese and South Korean fans, he apologized for posting a photo of his visit, claiming to have not known about the background surrounding the shrine.
  • August 15: Three cabinet ministers visited the shrine to mark the 69th anniversary of the surrender of Japan in World War II. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe however chose not to.
• 2015
  • November 23: An explosion at a public toilet in the war shrine caused some damage to the ceiling and wall of the bathroom near the south gate of the shrine.
• 2018
  • October 31: Chief priest resigns following his criticism against Emperor.
• 2021
  • August: Chinese actor Zhang Zhehan had taken photos of himself posing in front of cherry blossom in March 2018, having followed the Sakura route suggested by state sponsored news agencies such as People's Network. In August 2021, the background architecture of one of the photos was recognized as Saikan (office area of the Shrine). After the photos became viral and sparked outrage in China, Zhang issued an apology. However, multiple media agencies and majority of people still accused him of betrayal to the national dignity. The photos resulted in 22 brands terminating their endorsements of Zhang. His upcoming films and television shows also terminated all of their associations with him. The China Association of Performing Arts (CAPA) then called for a total entertainment ban on Zhang. Several Chinese music and streaming platforms removed his music, television and film works. Chinese social media platforms Sina Weibo and TikTok deleted his studio and personal accounts.
  • 13 August: Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi visited the shrine making him the first sitting Defense Minister to do so since 2016. The South Korean Foreign Ministry described his visit as "deplorable". The Chinese public condemned his visit, which occurred during the domestic Chinese public and political controversy regarding Chinese actor-singer Zhang Zhehan's photographs.
  • 17 October: Yoshihide Suga visited the shrine two weeks after leaving office as Prime Minister. His successor, Fumio Kishida, donated masakaki ornaments but did not visit.