THE JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER’S VISITS TO THE YASUKUNI SHRINE ANALYZED UNDER ARTICLES 20 AND 89 OF THE JAPANESE CONSTITUTION
THE JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER’S VISITS TO THE YASUKUNI SHRINE ANALYZED UNDER ARTICLES 20 AND 89 OF THE JAPANESE CONSTITUTION

Summary/Abstract: This essay focuses on the constitutionality of visits by the Prime Minister of Japan to the Yasukuni Shrine to pay homage to the Kami (spirits) enshrined there, but the analysis may be applicable to visits by other government officials. The essay explains why these visits violate Article 20 of the Japanese Constitution. The analysis would also apply to visits by the Prime Minister and other government officials to other religious sites if those visits also have the religious elements that visits to the Yasukuni Shrine have. This article does not address the involuntary enshrinement of the spirits of people, even when the government tacitly aided the shrine in gaining the information necessary to determine who to enshrine. This issue, while exceptionally important, is well beyond the limited scope of this essay.

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