# Japanese Defense Minister Koizumi prays at shrine seen by neighbors as symbol of Japanese militarism

https://mins.news/en/item/22780

- The Associated Press, 2026-08-15 06:00 UTC
- Politics
- Original: https://bit.ly/4fYkAy5

> Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi prayed Saturday at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, which Japan’s Asian neighbors view as a symbol of the country’s past militarism.

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- [Japan defence minister visits contentious Yasukuni Shrine to war dead](https://mins.news/en/item/22738) — Reuters, 2026-08-15