Koichi Kato is understandably upset. Earlier this month, a man armed with a knife and copious supplies of kerosene burnt down Mr Kato’s family home in Yamagata prefecture and then tried to commit seppuku, or ritual suicide, on the premises. Only by chance was Mr Kato’s 97-year-old mother out for a stroll. The attack on Mr Kato’s home by a suspected right-wing fanatic followed repeated warnings by the veteran Liberal Democratic party politician against the wisdom of prime ministerial visits to the Yasukuni shrine. Yasukuni is the Shinto shrine that honours 2.5m war dead, as well as a handful of...