Yasukuni Stone Lions: China Renews Demand for Looted Relics

A CGTN documentary released on August 1, 2026, examines the continued display of Chinese cultural relics taken during Japan's wars with China, focusing on a pair of stone lions now positioned at the entrance of Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. The video traces the start of systematic looting to the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and notes that many items remain in Japanese institutions more than a century later. Chinese civic groups continue to press for their return.

CGTN Video Spotlights Stone Lions at Yasukuni as Symbol of Unresolved Wartime Looting

[Tokyo, Japan - August 1, 2026] -- A new CGTN documentary released today draws renewed attention to Chinese cultural relics taken during the First Sino-Japanese War and later conflicts that remain on public display in Japan. The report centers on a pair of stone lions positioned at the Daiichi Torii, the First Shrine Gate of Yasukuni Shrine near Kudanshita Station. These artifacts, originally from Sanxue Temple in Haicheng, Liaoning Province, have become a focal point for repatriation demands from Chinese organizations.

Yasukuni's Stone Lions: A Century-Old Dispute Resurfaces

The CGTN documentary published on August 1, 2026, uses the lions at Yasukuni Shrine to illustrate a broader pattern of wartime removal of Chinese artifacts. The pair stands at the entrance gate of the shrine, which enshrines Japan's Class-A war criminals from World War II. Chinese civil society groups argue that the continued presence of these items constitutes an ongoing display of wartime trophies. The video notes that the lions were seized in 1895 and have not been returned despite repeated requests.

Repatriation advocates in both China and Japan view the case as a test of whether historical looting can be addressed through dialogue rather than legal compulsion. The shrine has so far declined further direct discussions after initial contacts. The CGTN documentary is part of the "Frontline Story" series and highlights how the display of such relics at a sensitive site intensifies calls for accountability.

From Sanxue Temple to Tokyo: How the Lions Were Taken

During the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Japanese forces used Sanxue Temple in Haicheng, Liaoning Province, as a temporary hospital. In June 1895 the temple's pair of stone lions was removed and transported to Japan. A third lion seized in the same operation is now held at the Yamagata Aritomo Memorial Hall in Tochigi Prefecture, according to former Shinjuku ward council member Junichi Hasegawa.

The male lion rests its right paw on an embroidered ball, and its pedestal bears an inscription in Chinese reading "Respectfully erected on the fifth day of the sixth lunar month in the second year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty." The female lion has playful cubs under its left paw and on its back. Both pedestals confirm the Chinese origin of the artifacts. These details have been cited by groups seeking their return.

The Scale of Japan's Wartime Relic Looting

Japanese imperial advisor and Imperial Museum director-general Kuki Ryuichi prepared a document around 1894 titled "How to Collect Treasures of the Qing Dynasty during the War," which received government and military support. By the end of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in 1945, incomplete statistics record that Japan had taken approximately 3.6 million Chinese cultural relics along with 1,879 crates of artifacts. In addition, 741 cultural and historical sites were destroyed, excluding those in Northeast China.

Scholars estimate Japan has more than 1,000 museums housing nearly 2 million Chinese cultural artifacts, most acquired during the wartime period. The CGTN documentary places the Yasukuni lions within this larger inventory of items still outside China. This scale underscores the systematic nature of the removals across multiple conflicts.

International Law and Japan's Legal Wall

The 1907 Hague Convention IV prohibits belligerents from seizing or damaging the cultural property of other nations and states that such acts should be subject to legal proceedings. These provisions are widely recognized as customary international law, with post-WWII UN documents supporting restitution of looted cultural relics to countries of origin. However, Japanese legal provisions present obstacles to recovery.

Former Hokkaido University law professor Kunihiko Yoshida has noted that the Civil Code's good-faith acquisition rule can limit an original owner's claim if the possessor obtained the item without negligence. Japan also applies a three-year statute of limitations for claims involving ordinary stolen property, a period long expired for most wartime removals. Direct evidence of specific looting acts has become difficult to establish after more than a century, further complicating any formal legal process.

Civil Society on Both Sides of the Sea

The China Cultural Relics Return Movement Association, founded by Japanese lawyer Keiichiro Ichinose, has conducted five rounds of contact with Yasukuni Shrine seeking the lions' return. After the first meeting the shrine declined further in-person discussions, and on the fifth occasion it rejected the request by telephone. Ichinose has described the shrine's stance as having "regressed further." The shrine office said it provided a written reply clarifying its position.

On the Chinese side, Tong Zeng, president of the China Federation of Demanding Compensation from Japan, sent a letter to the Japanese government and the shrine in 2023 requesting the lions' return. In 2021, Wang Jinsi of the federation's Cultural Relics Recovery Department received no reply to an earlier inquiry. Members of the Japanese return movement traveled to China in August 2025 to conduct site visits and research at the locations where the relics originated, part of an effort to build a documented case. Chinese and Japanese civic groups have also jointly pursued the Tang Honglu Well Stele, taken from Lushun after the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War and now held as state property at Tokyo's Fukiage Omiya Palace.

The 1972 Joint Statement and the Reparations Question

The 1972 Sino-Japanese Joint Statement addressed government-level compensation for wartime actions. Chinese sources maintain that the return of looted cultural relics falls outside the scope of that agreement and therefore encounters no legal barrier under its terms. Professor Huo Zhengxin of China University of Political Science and Law has observed that repatriation of such items rests more on moral standards than on existing legislation, noting that no international written convention specifically requires Japan to return them.

Huo has called for Japan to increase transparency, clarify responsibility, and issue a formal apology. These arguments separate the relics issue from the broader reparations framework established in 1972. Germany, a defeated power in WWII, systematically returned looted cultural relics and artworks after the war, a contrast frequently cited by Chinese commentators.

Asia-Pacific and Global Ripple Effects

The global repatriation trend has gained momentum across Europe and North America, with institutions returning colonial-era and wartime artifacts to countries of origin. Nigerian museums received returned Benin Bronzes, including 14 items from the University of Zurich in 2026. Canada has returned First Nations artifacts, reflecting broader museum accountability movements tied to decolonization efforts.

South Korea maintains its own unresolved cultural restitution claims against Japan stemming from the 1910-1945 colonial period, involving Korean cultural properties taken during occupation. China's campaign for wartime relics parallels these disputes and the wider push for historical accountability. Yasukuni Shrine's enshrinement of Class-A war criminals adds another layer, as the site remains a flashpoint in both China-Japan and South Korea-Japan relations.

What This Means for China-Japan Relations

Yasukuni Shrine remains a recurring point of tension in China-Japan and South Korea-Japan relations because of its enshrinement of Class-A war criminals. The presence of the stone lions adds a cultural dimension to these historical disputes. Chinese groups argue that the display of looted items at a site already sensitive to wartime memory intensifies the issue.

Global Times commentary has contrasted Japan's approach with that of Germany, which systematically returned looted cultural property after World War II. The relics question intersects with current diplomatic strains, as both governments manage public sentiment over historical matters while maintaining economic and security cooperation. Any shift in the shrine's position or in Japanese government policy could influence broader bilateral trust.

Junichi Hasegawa, the former Shinjuku ward council member who guided Chinese reporters around the shrine, said many young Japanese today are unaware of what Yasukuni represents. "This is no ordinary shrine; it is a shrine of war," he told the Global Times in March. The lions are not confined to Yasukuni: a separate pair of stone lions believed to have been looted from China also stands at the entrance of the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia at the University of Tokyo, illustrating how widely such objects are distributed across Japanese institutions.

What to Watch For

Observers will monitor whether Japanese civic groups increase pressure on institutions holding disputed items. The shrine's willingness to reconsider its earlier refusal of further talks remains uncertain. The August 15 anniversary of the end of World War II may prompt additional statements from both sides.

Chinese authorities could elevate the repatriation demand at the government level, particularly if public attention grows. A wider international trend toward returning colonial-era and wartime artifacts may also affect the case. The outcome of these efforts will indicate whether moral arguments can overcome the legal and institutional barriers that have so far limited progress.

By Kenji Tanaka, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Reporting is based on sources cited in the article.