Yasukuni Shrine Marks 80 Years of Peace, Honor, and Remembrance

In the early morning light of August 15, 2025, the 80th anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, a steady stream of visitors makes its way through the towering torii gates of Yasukuni Shrine. Some wear solemn black suits, clutching photos or memorial tablets of lost relatives. Others, including smiling young couples in North Face t-shirts pushing baby strollers, chat quietly as they make their way through the crowd. While the mood is solemn, moments of warmth and laughter ripple through the lines of visitors.

They have come to pay their respects on this landmark 終戦記念日 (End of War Memorial Day), honoring the souls of those who fell in the conflict. The atmosphere is one of hushed reverence, a blend of grief, gratitude, and quiet pride.

"Every year, I make sure to come here on August 15," said a middle-aged father visiting with his young daughter. "As Japanese, we have a duty to pass on our history. It's important to teach the next generation about our past, especially a place like this."

A Somber Morning at Yasukuni Shrine

At 7:30 AM, as cicadas drone in the humid summer air, hundreds of people are already lined up to offer prayers. One by one, they approach the haiden (worship hall), toss a coin as an offering, and clap twice before murmuring prayers for the souls enshrined here.

Yasukuni Shrine has been the central site for commemorating Japan's war dead since it was founded by Emperor Meiji in 1869. Its very name means "peaceful country" or "land of peace" in Japanese. Today, it enshrines the spirits of about 2.5 million individuals who gave their lives in conflicts from the 19th century through World War II.

Among them are soldiers, nurses, factory workers, and others who served the nation, from the Boshin War (1868-69) to the Greater East Asia War of the 1940s. Each name is inscribed in the shrine's Yushukan museum rolls and remembered as eirei, guardian spirits of the country.

*Visitors to Yasukuni Shrine. August 15, 2025 (©JAPAN Forward)*

Honoring the Fallen, 80 Years Later

This year's commemoration carries special weight: eight decades have passed since the guns fell silent in 1945. Japan has enjoyed 80 years of peace and rebuilding, but the memories of war's sacrifices remain potent. Approximately 3.1 million Japanese, both military personnel and civilians, lost their lives in World War II.

Emperor Naruhito, speaking at a separate official memorial ceremony in Tokyo, expressed, "I earnestly pray that the horrors of war will never be repeated." Those sentiments are shared by many who come to Yasukuni. They do not visit to glorify conflict. Instead, they come to mourn, to give thanks, and to pray that such tragedy never befalls Japan again.

Gratitude, Not Politics

Many visitors to Yasukuni on this day are children or grandchildren of the war generation. The aged veterans and bereaved spouses who once dominated the grounds are now fewer each year. In their place, younger Japanese are stepping forward to carry the torch of remembrance. Parents can be seen explaining the significance of the shrine to their kids, ensuring that the stories of sacrifice are passed on.

Nearly half of the attendees at the nearby Budokan memorial event in 2024 were born after the war, underlining the importance of preserving these lessons as the eyewitness generation fades. That same imperative is felt here at Yasukuni.

"For me, it's simple," said a 33-year-old man from Kanagawa. "This is a sacred place to honor those who built today's Japan. Whether they were Japanese, American, or Chinese soldiers, everyone who fought back then contributed to shaping the world we live in. My visit is about gratitude, not politics."

Leaders and Citizens United in Respect

On this day, visitors include lawmakers and political figures who come in a private capacity to pay their respects alongside ordinary citizens. They emphasize that honoring those who gave their lives is a natural duty for any nation. Many offer prayers for peace and national prosperity, underscoring the shrine's role as a place of solemn unity.

Among them this year was LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama, who visited on August 14 to offer a tamagushi. "Three of my uncles were killed in the war," he explained to reporters. "I can't make it on the 15th, so I came today."

On August 15 itself, Sanseito brought 88 members, including 18 national lawmakers, in its first-ever group visit to Yasukuni. Party leader Sohei Kamiya expressed gratitude to those who "fought to defend the country and to protect everyone," and pledged to work for politics that ensures Japan "will never again be drawn into war."

Former minister Sanae Takaichi also attended. She stressed that honoring a nation's war dead "should never become a matter of diplomatic relations." At the same time, Former House of Representatives member Shuichi Takatori called it "very regrettable" that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba did not attend in person.

Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, too, paid his respects. Koizumi is the first confirmed Cabinet member to do so since the Ishiba Cabinet took office, continuing a six-year tradition of ministerial visits on this day.

Other lawmakers also visited, including former Economic Security Minister Takayuki Kobayashi and former Liberal Democratic Party Policy Research Council Chair Koichi Hagiuda. Members of a cross-party parliamentary group that makes an annual visit to the shrine were also present.

Carrying Memory Forward

Eighty years have now passed since the war's end – a span that has turned former battlefields into history lessons and personal tragedies into family lore. Yet, standing on these sacred grounds in 2025, one feels that the connection between past and present remains vivid and unbroken.

In a nation that has not seen war in eight decades, Yasukuni Shrine continues to serve as a touchstone of collective memory. It is a place where ordinary Japanese citizens come to contemplate the cost of peace. Each August 15, they renew an implicit pact: to remember those who sacrificed their lives and to ensure that their sacrifice was not in vain.

A woman in her forties epitomized this. Visiting with her teenage daughter, she said, "My grandfather is enshrined here, and I want my daughter to know the importance of remembering." Her daughter, standing beside her, added quietly, "We learned about the war in school, and I hope something like that never happens again."

Author: Daniel Manning