Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a prominent right-wing figure who has repeatedly offered tributes at the notorious Yasukuni Shrine which enshrines Class-A war criminals directly responsible for wars of aggression during the WWII, surprised many during her recent visit to Australia, during which she knelt on both knees in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier to lay flowers at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Her such act has sparked controversy online, with many criticizing it a hypocritical political performance aiming to appease the West and showing the Japanese leader’s white supremacy complex. A Chinese expert commented that Takaichi’s behavior is full of political calculation and is offensive to Japan’s Asian neighboring countries.
On May 4, Japan’s Prime Minister’s Office released a statement that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is visiting Canberra, the Commonwealth of Australia, laid a wreath at the Australian War Memorial during her visit to Canberra. The statement was accompanied by a photo of Takaichi kneeling on both knees while offering the flowers.
According to a post by the office, later on May 4, Takaichi also planted a tree at the Canberra Nara Peace Park and offered flowers and silent prayers at the memorial for the late former Japanese prime minister Abe Shinzo.
Based on public information available online, the Australian War Memorial (AWM), located in Campbell, a suburb of Australian capital city of Canberra, is a national war memorial, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who have died as a result of war. In 1993, the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier was installed inside the Memorial Building’s Hall of Memory.
Although the memorial was initially envisioned to only commemorate those who had died as the result of the WWI, the institution’s scope was changed to include service-members of the WWII in 1939, service-members from all other wars in 1952, and all Australians who died in conflict in 1975.
Japanese major media outlets, including the Nikkei, Jiji Press, and Asahi Shimbun, has simply outlined the itinerary and focused on the floral tribute while omitting the kneeling at the AWM. Instead, Global Times reporters noticed that Japanese local media such as the Sankei Shimbun has covered Takaichi’s tribute to Abe’s later on the day with more details, and highlighted that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was accompanying her and also honored the late former Japanese prime minister.
Despite the efforts of Japanese authorities and mainstream press to frame the event as a simple floral offering while downplaying the act of kneeling, the move indeed sparked controversy on the internet.
Some Japanese netizens said they approved of the gesture. Posting a video of Takaichi’s visit to the AWM, Japanese netizen @don_mai_don_mai claimed in a post that “Prime Minister Takaichi visits the Australian War Memorial and lays a wreath. With the bond between Japan and Australia in heart, renewing the pledge for peace.”
There is also a wave of backlash and criticism has also emerged among Japanese netizens
X user @ChiakTokai, taking a more extreme right-wing stance, claimed that “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to kneel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier…But look, please pay your respects at Yasukuni Shrine before you do that!!”
However, there are also strong criticizing voices, especially over the double standards toward Asian neighboring countries. X user @SUZUKIYASUSHI55 wrote in Japanese that “Prime Minister Takaichi is pictured at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, kneeling as she offers flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. If she could show this same humility toward our neighbors, we might actually have peace. Instead, her stubbornness continues to escalate tensions with neighboring countries.”
“I wonder why she can do this for Australia but not for East Asia. Is it because they’re white? We’ve been taught since we were kids that apologizing is the bigger move and refusing to is just pathetic – so what happened there?” wrote another @rien4048323.
Another Japanese X user @zomihooo slammed that “Diplomacy is about maintaining a balanced relationship with various nations. Clearly, she is being selective about who she respects. Based on her past words and actions, I don’t see Takaichi showing any genuine respect for the history or culture of our counterparts. Japan has no need for ‘low-IQ’ politicians who act like bullies toward other Asian countries.”
Some also contrasted Takaichi’s humble move in Australia with her refusal to make formal apology over the recent incident of SDF member’s intrusion into the Chinese Embassy in Japan, and criticizing that “same war, same destruction, yet she kneels for Australia while looking down her nose at Asia. Not a word of apology even when an SDF ‘thug’ invades an embassy. What is going on in this PM’s head? This combination of refusing to apologize and harboring such petty jealousy toward our neighbors is honestly embarrassing.”
“I thought it was just the signature, but I am simply left speechless.
Lacking both common sense and [knowledge of] history, the far-right chauvinist Ms. Takaichi has no qualification to be Prime Minister. What would the citizens of China and South Korea think? NHK and the mass media report nothing but achievements; they should report the photos and articles of [her] kneeling,” @suhamayuki commented on X.
To prove the double stands and inconsistency toward Asian and Western countries even more stark, some netizens also make comparison with her visit to Vietnam, where Takaichi performed a standard bow during her floral tribute in Ho Chi Minh City.
A netizen @gloomydeaf criticized that “Sanae Takaichi kneels in Australia. Aside from the atrocities committed against prisoners of war, Japan’s war crimes against Australia during WWII were relatively few—negligible when compared to the horrors inflicted upon China, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. Yet, a Japanese Prime Minister has never once dropped to their knees in any of those Asian nations.”
Xiang Haoyu, a distinguished research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday that Takaichi’s “kneeling” is a world apart from former German Chancellor Willy Brandt’s act of kneeling on both knees in front of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Memorial. “The latter represented genuine reflection and respect. In contrast, Takaichi’s behavior is full of political calculation and has offended Japan’s Asian neighboring countries.”
“This is merely a political show designed to please Western allies. It is not sincere repentance at all. If Japan truly wants to reflect and show genuine remorse, it should first properly answer and make amends to its Asian neighboring countries,” Xiang noted.
“The voices of supporting Takaichi to visit Yasukuni Shrine precisely reflects the spread of erroneous historical views within Japan, where right and wrong are blurred,” the Chinese expert warned.
Global Times
