Executive Briefing: The Political Flashpoint of Memory
Established in 1869 to enshrine war dead, Yasukuni Shrine was central to pre-1945 State Shinto (*Kokka Shinto*). Its 1978 secret enshrinement of fourteen Class-A war criminals remains a bitter diplomatic faultline across East Asia.
1. Separation of Religion and State in Modern Japan
Article 20 of the post-war Japanese Constitution strictly prohibited state patronage of religious institutions, returning Shinto to private shrine associations (*Jinja Honcho*).
2. References
- Hardacre, H. (1989). Shinto and the State, 1868–1988. Princeton University Press.