Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in a recent television program that she was "trying to create an environment" that would allow her to visit the notorious Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.
Such alarming rhetoric not only reveals a disregard for historical justice but also exposes the intention of Japan's right wing to revive a past rooted in militarism.
The Yasukuni Shrine is by no means an ordinary site for religious mourning and has long been a flashpoint in East Asia. Among the roughly 2.5 million war dead commemorated are 14 convicted Class-A war criminals from World War II.
At the heart of the matter is whether Japan can properly reckon with its history of aggression, show due regard for those who suffered, and abide by the basic norms of international relations.
If Takaichi continues to persist in such a high-wire political act, playing with fire on the wrong path, it will ultimately lead to irreparable consequences. Any challenge to justice and moral principle that teeters on the brink will only cause her to fall into the abyss she has dug for herself.
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