13 August, 2010 1. Leader of the French National Front party, Jean-Marie Le Pen, and other party members walking to their seats 2. Close up Le Pen (on right) talking to another representative 3. Wide shot of audience 4. Cutaway of photographers 5. Le Pen approaching podium 6. Sign reading: (Japanese and English) "International Conference of Patriotic Organisations" 7. Le Pen speaking 8. Pan from audience to Le Pen 9. SOUNDBITE: (French) Jean-Marie Le Pen, Leader of the National Front party: ++NON-VERBATIM TRANSLATION++ "I am going to visit there with Japanese colleagues as I myself sacrificed myself for France, and it is normal to feel sorry for those who sacrificed their lives." 10. Set-up shot of Adam Walker of the British National Party, talking to reporter 11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Adam Walker, British National Party manager: "Well I mean, the problem with wars is that it is usually only the people who lose who are the bad people. The people who win tend to be the good people in wars. So I'm visiting the shrine to show my respect to people all around the world, including the Japanese, those people who've given their lives for a cause." FILE: 15 August, 2009 12. Japanese veterans marching up to Yasukuni shrine on the 64th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II 13. Various of Yasukuni shrine STORYLINE: Leaders and other senior figures of European far right-wing parties planned to visit Tokyo's contentious Yasukuni Shrine to mark the 65 anniversary of the end of World War II, they said during a conference in Tokyo on Friday. The visit to the Shinto shrine is being arranged by the organisers of the International Conference of Patriotic Organisations, which is bringing together members of right-wing parties from eight European countries with members of a Japanese nationalist organisation, the Issuikai. Among those intending to make the visit on Saturday was the leader of the French National Front party, Jean-Marie Le Pen, and Adam Walker of the British National Party. Both men said they wanted to honour those who sacrificed their lives for a cause. The controversial Yasukuni Shrine honours Japan's war dead, including convicted war criminals. As such, pacifists and the victims of Japanese aggression, such as China and the Koreas, have criticised Yasukuni as a glorification of past militarism. The visit by the European party leaders is also likely to anger some former prisoners of war in those countries being represented by the right-wing groups. Tens of thousands of British, Dutch and other European soldiers and civilians were captured by the Japanese Imperial Army as they swept across Europe's former Asian colonies at the beginning of World War II. Thousands were either executed, tortured or starved to death as they laboured in Japanese prisoner of war camps before being liberated by allied forces in 1945. Similar visits to Yasukuni by Japanese politicians on the 15 August anniversary have provoked furious responses from China, Korea and neighbouring Asian countries whose populations suffered at the hands of the Japanese military leaders the shrine honours. The Japanese Kyodo agency reported that Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his ministers have said they do not intend to visit the shrine. It will be the first time that all members of a Cabinet refrain from visiting the shrine during the anniversary, Kyodo said. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/f0930898772aa433c8979a70b4dff77c Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 28 Jul 2015
• views: 0