Abe's shrine visit raises risk of conflict, analysts say

Well, whatever his visit to Yasukuni shows, it tells us that the ultra right wing and nationalism are more important to Abe than his people.

This guy is a kamikaze pilot, screaming defiance as his plane hurtles to the ground.

I just wish there weren't 100 million passengers on board his plane.

Got to love Abe, bit of a naughty boy but helping many innovators make more money to help Japan succeed.

The shrine matter (complainers)is for silly people who need to get a life and maybe work harder.

2013 was one of the worst years in Japan-China relations since diplomatic relations were normalized back in 1972. I hope 2014 is the age of friendship and (relations) thaw.

It's similar to the rise in ultra right nationalist sentiments in other nations around the world (though the average Japanese citizen disagreeing with the likes of China demonizing them incessantly hardly is characteristic of 'nationalism').

When your nation and people are constantly demonized and antagonized unfairly, when push comes to shove, there is no other option but to fight back.

The anti Japan crowd will always blame Japan and Japanese for every little thing, but conveniently turn a blind eye to the way other nations have harassed and goaded Japanese government into taking a harder line stance.

Abe needs to go. Japan needs a stronger military, but it doesn't need nationalism in its government.

If you have a criminal in your family and he or she is buried in your grave with other ancestors, do you not visit the cemetery since the victims complain? Or will you have two graves seperating from other ancestors?

Let China tear down its Mao Tse-Dong statues and posters before deprecating the affairs of other nations. Mao slaughtered and starved far more people than all the war mongers entombed at Yasukuni combined.

It's all about who's side you are in? War is always brutal and winner is the one who writes the history. My grandfather (still alive) fought WWII together with British goes like this "You are out of ammo, out of food still walking/fighting, fear has gone. With all that anger you can't be merciful"

You can't control spirits. A shrine is merely a representation of ones will. Chose your shrine wisely. If the will is to pray next to war criminals then in order to not look like you're doing that, don't do that. Have another shrine. But stop pretending it doesn't matter when it clearly does

Do these critics honestly believe appeaseing stance would help improve the relations with countries like China/SKorea?

“His ultimate goal is to revise the (pacifist) constitution,” said Tetsuro Kato, professor emeritus at Tokyo’s Hitotsubashi University. He is “arrogant and running out of control” can't the rest of the Japanese people also see this.

Abe's 'Japan dream' to reconstruct Japan as an ordinary country is actually the base for him to be elected to the position of PM, so it's understandable why he did all these matters. However his Japan dream might be others' nightmare, even including the US, so it caused the problem we see today.

What a bunch of crock. Abe's shrine visit is a step towards conflict (armed). Abe should do what he thinks is right and not worry that his neighbors feelings are hurt.

Why we are angry Abe visited the shrine? Well what did Japanese Army do during World War 2? Come on, please don't be so ignorant? Don't know ? Just google. Forgive but don't forget. Pearl Harbour. Nanking. Sandakan Death march.

China, despite its protests against Yasukuni Shrine visits, the standoff over Taiwan, the inability to mange NK, the inaction over taking the Senkakus, the ADIZ claims, the icebreaker stranded in Antarctica, is a paper tiger.

He's playing to a minority of nationalist citizens or people who lean towards him politically. Sorry to say many Japanese are apathetic and couldn't care less. They're more concerned with their personal financial situation at the moment.

So, let's keep pressing the Chinese until a provoked reaction allows the Japanese to retaliate and a full blown war takes off.....

I must agree, Abe was well aware of the perceptions; and made no attempt to visit the Shrine privately as he suggested. It was a public statement. Clearly, he and his ilk have decided the time has come to tell China there will never be 1.6 billion Chinese "US style consumers" living the high life. And that Japan, as an island nation, will simply demand the necessary resources to survive and prevent the growth of enemies. It is only natural, and they should simply admit it, and get on with it.

It's rather boggling that the intent to press China is so obvious. As far as calling them a "paper tiger", do we really want to find out if they have fangs/claws?

I'm fine with not acquiescing to their demands... but I'm not ok with the PM acting so willfully arrogant. He represents the entire nation, not just a group of old, right-wing men.

Abe's visit to Yasukuni demonstrates that he will do whatever he wants no matter the cost. This the his ultimate signature. He needs to be taught a concrete lesson; and quickly. Unfortunately the majority of the people will be hurt. The days of Japanese imperialism is over. Sadly Abe refuses to face this fact.

The Peoples Republic of China is looking for a fight. I do not think the visit means a thing to the PRC. It is just a useful excuse. About Japan's military buildup, it is a direct response to the PRC's threats and actions. For Japan, doing nothing against a known threat is a sin that generates it own reward.

Abe in his television remarks stated that he was only doing what any national leader would do, but he in fact is only pushing his own personal agenda. A responsible leader's first and foremost concern should be the safety and welfare of his people; the visit did nothing to support these two mandates. Abe's visit In fact has jeapordized the safety of the many Japanese and Japanese companies in China and Korea. This was not a responsible act by a leader.

Childish responses to Abe's shrine visit raises the risk of conflict.

He is a nationalist. He is showing that he and Japan are no longer the servant of the US. The visit is directed towards the US and Obama (who does not like Japan). He really doesn't care about China and S Korea. And look!!! No demonstrations in China, just a few hard words. Maybe China really understands after all.

The madness continues. Every time a world leader makes a move or utters a statement, the media blows it up to dangerous proportions. If the media ignored Abe's visit to the shrine, it would have zero meaning and put him out of the business of psychological terror. Nuclear Roulette is the play-thing of today's power brokers. They should be held accountable for this crime against humanity and imprisoned for recklessly exposing their people to the very real possibility of nuclear annihilation. Article 9 has kept Japan free of war making for 67 years. Abe and his cohorts would gain world wide respect and fame if they promoted Article 9 as the template for peace that it is proven to be.

"Obama (who does not like Japan)." So, he should stop all military assistance to Japan? GOOD IDEA. Protect yourself and pay 100% of the cost. Thank you from the USA taxpayers. By the way, if President Obama would take a billion in foreign aid from every country, he could pay for Obamacare for every legal and illegal person in the USA. Are Japan and South Korea willing to pay 100% for their defense? NO! They don't have the technology, a constitutional right, and personnel to achieve it.

Yasukuni is a Japanese shrine, in Japan. I don't see how any other country can complain about a Japanese citizen visiting a Japanese war memorial to pay respect for the dead. Almost every other country throughout the world have these kind of temples/shrines or memorials to those who died during war.

Lets face it, whatever Abe does, or does not do, China will have a problem with.

While the rightists and their sympathizers have been attacking China with ad hominum off-the-point arguments, they have said practically nothing about South Korea, which was as angered as China by Abe's Yasukuni visit. Why haven't they? Because there is nothing foul one can say about South Korea to muddy the waters of logical argument. So can we conclude that South Korea's outrage is justified even if China's is not? But if we conclude that we have to admit that China, whatever its sins, also has a right to be outraged because it is protesting the same crimes against humanity that South Korea is protesting--Japan having ravaged China as horridly as Korea.

Of course apologists for Abe will never stick to the point, never be honest, because to do so would be to admit that Abe's agenda was to worship the bogus history that is Yasukuni stands for.

Next time Abe decided to make another questionable antiwar statement let him do so at Tokyo Disneyland. He might sound half-way believable.

Like every country, Japan has its own chickens too. Japanese PM goes to japanese shrine, in Japan, to reflect , to pray for peace. Nothing wrong with that .Not a little bit. Its no other country 's business. If no country threatens Japan , Japan will remain peaceful anyway. In a democratic country , every mum every dad just do not want their kids to fight for or die because of any unnecessary war.Peace is the best.

I want to know why US Embassy did not express their disappointment when former S Korea President visited Takeshima as a provocation.

S. Korean government always praise Germany in order to blame Japan. I want to know why they ignore that the German officials visit the Bitburg Militaly Cemetary every year, where there are SS graves as well.

http://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/06/international/europe/06REAG.html

Japan has been a peace loving country for nearly 70 years contributing to the development of the world including Asian nations, whereas China has lots of confilicts with neighboring countries and S. Korea still cannot solve their problem with N. Korea, where so many people of the same race are strugling with poverty, starvation, and risk of life.

Shinto is not only a religeon but also rooted deeply in our culture. The shrined war criminals were already convicted at the Tokyo Tribunal, and some were executed, some were prisoned. They have followed the sentence.

In the first place, shrines are not graves but the place where we pray for the repose of souls in order to keep the country in peace. That is the meaning of "Yasukuni". There is no body or "ihai (spirit tablet)". Dead souls are treated equaly under Shinto not like China or Korea where the enemies graves are sometimes violated.

Of course nothing wrong if there aren't convicted war criminals there. Look nothing personal against Japanese people. Visited the country last year...simply wonderful. The people courteous , the country clean and safe. But couldn't people see the right-wing are embarking on a dangerous path to militarize Japan. It is plain obvious America is using Japan against China. Abe thought he could use this point when he visited Yasukuni. Yes, Mao through his Culture Revolution resulted millions of Chinese dead and of course China is now spending billions on arms but this doesn't make it right the visit to the shrine.

Abe is one crazy guy who is leading his country into a war with China. Japan will be crushed.

Virgo98 well one of the main reasons Korea became divided in the first place was because Japan invaded the country. The leaders of what is now north Korea were resistance fighters against the invading Japanese and were nationalists that formed out of the desire for independence...

Japan's economy also profited greatly from the Korean war by manufacturing many goods for the war boosting its economy in the 50s. This money was used to develop Japan s enterprises. As a result your country has been able to prosper earlier while these countries began to catch up in more recent years. Japan benefited from this divison and felt secure enough economically that it didn't provoke war so I dont see why you are complaining. It was a godsend for Japan. ..and contributed to its long peace and prosperity.

Japan a peaceful state? It was legally while it had a pacifist constitution but not anymore. It's trying to aggravate China to remilitarize.. And Isn't every state that hasn't gone to war since ww2 a peaceful state?

dont forget that Japan has territorial disputes with Russia korea china and Taiwan. It refused to settle with Russia's generous offer to share the islands in the 'northern territories.' Not convinced by your points and deflection from the real issue. sorry ..

How dare Prime Minister Abe go to a shrine to honor the Japanese and foreign war dead.

I don't claim to fully understand the significance of this shrine, but why does his visit to a Japanese shrine anger China ?

The PRC and it's tributary states of Korea would complain and call Abe if he sneezed. So why should he not honor his nations war dead?

Sneezed, laugh, walk, talk, smile, eat, read, write or anything else the PRC and it's puppet states would cry foul.

seraphineDec. 29, 2013 - 07:59PM JST Japan's economy also profited greatly from the Korean war by manufacturing many goods for the war boosting its economy in the 50s

Interesting, you are blaming Japan for making money.

You guys can't stop the hate. BTW how many war atrocities did Japan commit after WWII?

Oh yeah, that's right none. Can you say the same thing for The PRC and the Korea's?

What was the shrine visit all about?

Why did Abe do this?

At this time?

He had to get Nakaima's agreement to build the new superbase in Henoko in Okinawa.

He needed this to appease his American "overlords."

After applying all kinds of pressure, finally, Nakaima caved and Abe had the hanko on the document.

So, he he had to go to Yasukuni TO THANK THE GODS OF HIS ANCESTORS!

Abe is nuttier than a fruit cake!

Abe will be out of power at the next election, and another will take his place. It happens all the time... there will be a scandal, he will be called to stand down, and so it continues.

As for visiting Yasukune leading to armed conflict... only a complete and utter loony would take a shrine visit as provocation. So what if there are war criminals among the millions honoured at the shrine... who says he goes there to honour the criminals? I've said it before and I'll say it again, what happens in Japan has got nowt to do with China. Why they can't just bugger off and leave the Japanese alone is anyone's guess.

Well, still no demonstrations etc. in China. I guess the Chinese government is just going through the motions. Same with S. Korea. Ordinary Chinese people don't care. And don't worry. Abe will be gone soon. He is failing to implement reforms of "third arrow" because he cannot overcome resistance of vested interests. He will be history by mid-2014. Hey, I should be an "analyst"!

noriyosan73 Honest Abe belongs to this religion. He is honoring the war dead in his family. So the Peoples Republic of China objects and so does the Republic of Korea. If Japan became neutral then it would cause trouble for the Republic of Korea. After all being neutral means the USA can not support Korea in time of war.

Remember there are no ashes of the Class A criminals. Some monks just wrote down their names. As far as I am concerned their objections are being done for only political purposes.

Abe's shrine visits of themselves do not raise the risk of conflict with anyone; it is the gross over-reactions to the visits by the Chinese and Korean governments (and their home-grown nationalist loons) that do.