Word: japanized
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...growing number of academics and diplomats worry that increasing tensions caused by Japan's intransigence on the issue could make it more difficult for China, South Korea and Japan to focus and cooperate on North Korea's nuclear program. Some have even suggested that the U.S. attempt to mediate in some way. But the Bush administration has, so far, steered far clear of the issue - and that's likely to continue. "Although Japan's inability to resolve this issue undercuts its credibility and, by extension, U.S. influence in Asia," says Patrick Cronin, director of studies at the International Institute...
...unfamiliar, the Yasukuni Shrine in central Tokyo would seem like a serenely inoffensive place. Ringed by long, broad paths and shaded by groves of cherry trees, the shrine sits in a park across the moat from Japan?s Imperial Palace, attracting a range of lovers, snoozers and strollers. During the spring, it's a favorite location for Tokyo's famous cherry blossom festival. In such a tranquil setting, visitors might be tempted to forget those the shrine was erected to honor: Japan's 2.5 million war dead, including 14 convicted Class A war criminals from World...
...from a refuge, the shrine has become one of the most controversial locales in Asia - and in the process rekindled historic antagonisms between Japan and its neighbors throughout the region. The chief agitator is none other than Japan's Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, who has made an annual pilgrimmage to the site for the past five years. Koizumi defends the visits as a chance to pray and show respect for Japan's war dead. But Koizumi's appearances at the shrine have infuriated the Chinese and South Koreans, who view it as a symbol of Japan's militarist past...
...also may be a problem for the U.S. diplomatic efforts to enlist its Asian allies to help curtail North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Under Koizumi - who travels this week to the U.S., making stops both in Washington and at Graceland - Japan has taken a more muscular role in world affairs and sent troops to Iraq. The changes have been warmly welcomed in Washington, which has long wanted Japan to shoulder more responsibility for its own defense and become a more substantial counterweight to the regional ambitions of China and North Korea. The U.S. has been alone among the other nations...
...Asia, however, Japan's assertiveness has raised anxieties about a resurgence of the nationalist impulses that led to the deaths of millions during World War II. Anger at Koizumi's visits to the shrine runs deep. At an APEC meeting in Busan, South Korea, last November, South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun told Koizumi that his visits were "totally unacceptable" and China?s ambassador to Japan recently said that a China-Japan summit, which has not happened since 2001, would only take place once "political obstacles" had been overcome. In Japan, debate over who should succeed Koizumi has thus...