Aug. 15 marks the 78th anniversary of Imperial Japan’s unconditional surrender to the Allied powers and the end of World War II. Each year around this time Japanese people make a visit to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

The shrine was created in 1869 to commemorate mainly the soldiers, or samurai, who died in Japan’s wars. Today, over 2.5 million soldiers’ spirits are enshrined at Yasukuni, including some, now considered war criminals, who led Japan to invade China and Korea and into World War II.

Aug. 15 marks the 78th anniversary of Imperial Japan’s unconditional surrender to the Allied powers and the end of World War II. Each year around this time Japanese people make a visit to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)