Japan PM's visit to war shine condemned in Sri Lanka

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's controversial visit to the Yasukuni Shrine and the adverse impact this visit will have on China-Japan relations was described as "deplorable" by officials in Sri Lanka on Friday. Secretary General of Sri Lanka-China Friendship Association Sumathi Dharmawardana told Xinhua that Abe's visit on Dec. 26 deserved the severest condemnation. "The Japanese Army's conduct during the Second World War is highly deplorable as they killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in Asia and South Asia. Similar to the Nazi in Germany, they were as brutal or more so to people living in South Asia. Therefore venerating the Yasukuni Shrine hurts friendly relations between Japan and China," he said. "We, as friends of China, do not approve of the actions of the Japanese prime minister and find his actions highly deplorable. We do not understand why he would take such an action in the 21st century. If the United Nations war crimes tribunal existed at that time, the Japanese army would have had to come before it. As such we are deeply disappointed by the actions of the Japanese prime minister." Sri Lanka Association for Social and Cultural Exchange President Indra Abeywardane shared with this view. "This was an extremely insensitive act, one that disregards the suffering felt by thousands of people in other Asian and South Asian countries." He also dismissed claims by Abe that the Japanese government remains committed to world peace and stability after such an act and emphasized that such words should be met by actions. Abe's visit has sparked condemnation from a range of sources including opposition politicians in Japan and officials in the United States. The United States, Japan's key ally, was also "disappointed" by Abe's visit to the shrine, saying the move would "exacerbate tensions with Japan's neighbors." Joseph Nye, former U.S. assistant secretary of defense, said earlier in Tokyo that if Abe visited Yasukuni as prime minister, it will do "considerable damage" to Japan's relations with its neighbors, as well as its relations with the United States. Japan's business community has voiced concerns over worsening economic ties with China and South Korea in the wake of Abe's shrine visit, with some fearing that the move could develop into boycotts of Japanese products overseas. The war-linked Yasukuni Shrine which honors 14 class-A war criminals has been as a symbol of Japan's past wartime militarism.