Former Yasukuni Shrine official Hisao Baba, 81, can still remember clearly a conversation he had some 60 years ago with the top priest of the controversial Shinto shrine.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2006/nn20060723a4a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='364'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Emperor Hirohito is accompanied by then Imperial Household Agency Grand Steward Tomohiko Tomita –

in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, in May 1981. KYODO FILE PHOTO

It was only a few years after seven Class-A war criminals, including Gen. Hideki Tojo, were hung in 1948 following Japan's surrender in World War II.

Japan to start new residency system for foreign workers
Students hoping to work in Japan attend a Japanese class at a job placement company in Hanoi in October 2022.
Japan to regularly accept assistant language teachers from India
Indian assistant language teachers pose for a photo with Japanese Ambassador Keiichi Ono (center) at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Friday.
At LDP’s post-election meeting, calls intensify for Ishiba’s resignation
Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic Party President Shigeru Ishiba, flanked by LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama (left) and LDP Vice President Yoshihide Suga, speaks at a meeting of party lawmakers and executives at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
Why Ishiba refuses to quit even amid intense pressure for him to go
Supporters of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba take part in a rally across the street from the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
Amid fossil fuel shift in U.S., hope emerges for India and Japan tie-up on solar
A technician works on the assembly line at a solar panel manufacturing hub on the outskirts of New Delhi last October.
Japan and NATO to launch defense-industrial talks, top envoy says
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte looks at military equipment on the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami stealth frigate during a visit to the MSDF's naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in April.
‘Killer satellites’ beware: Japan unveils first space defense guidelines
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani speaks to reporters during a visit to the Air Self-Defense Force's Space Situation Awareness radar in Sanyo-Onoda, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on Monday.
Three decades and a pile of notebooks: The beat writer who chronicled Ichiro’s career
Reporters and photographers, including long-time baseball beat writer Keizo Konishi, swarm around Ichiro Suzuki during the World Baseball Classic in San Diego in 2009.
Tokyo is the No. 2 choice for international students
The University of Tokyo. International students are increasingly flocking to Asia, with affordability being a particularly important metric.

Our Planet

A technician works on the assembly line at a solar panel manufacturing hub on the outskirts of New Delhi last October.
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Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
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