Word: japanized
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...July 24] is absurd. According to his theory, the next logical step would be for the Bush Administration to start peace negotiations with the Taliban, Iraqi insurgents and even Osama bin Laden. Can you imagine what the world would be like today if F.D.R. had decided to negotiate with Japan and Nazi Germany? David Holtzer Kibbutz Urim, Israel...
...Yasukuni is a losing diplomatic issue for Japan, but there's always been support at home, especially among older Japanese who feel they deserve a place where they can pay respect to their millions of war dead without guilt. Although he had never visitied the shrine before he ran for Prime Minister in 2001, Koizumi made an election promise to pay his respects at Yasukuni if he won. That pledge won him key support from conservatives, and in the following years Koizumi deftly used Yasukuni to score political points at home. The louder China and South Korea would complain...
...Yasukuni left Koizumi in a political situation that Bush might recognize - what succeeds in domestic politics is wrecking the country's reputation abroad. And that leaves Abe in something of a bind. (Abe is a virtual lock to win next month's elections to lead Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, LDP, which would automatically make him Prime Minister.) If Abe visits Yasukuni after becoming Prime Minister, he could destroy Japan's best chance in years to repair relations with China and South Korea. If he decides not to go, he could be seen as kowtowing to Chinese wishes...
...decide eventually. Many observers assume that his past record means he will make the trip as Prime Minister at some point. But with Abe's proven conservative bona-fides, he might be able pass on Yasukuni without paying a serious political price at home -- if he thinks salvaging Japan's Asian relations is worth the risk. "It could be Nixon goes to China," says Dujarric...
...Japan is virtually split over the issue, although it is slowly turning against the shrine visits. That change is in part due to revelations published last month that Emperor Hirohito apparently stopped visiting Yasukuni because 14 Class A war criminals, including WWII-era leader Hideki Tojo, were secretly enshrined there in 1978. There's also evidence that Japan's conservatives may finally be coming to grips with the truth of WWII. This week the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's largest paper and a traditionally conservative voice, published the conclusion of a yearlong examination of Japan's responsibility for the war. Rejecting...