Tension with Japan

NYT is reporting that there is some tension occurring between Japan and the US. One aide to Prime Minister Abe openly criticized the US in a recent online video.

The US has criticized Abe’s visit to the shrine dedicated to war dead including some high-level people who were convicted of war crimes. On the one hand is the overt act of visiting such a place which is criticized. But, beyond this, I think the question everyone (in South Korea and other places) must be asking is why would a person in a position such as Abe do such a thing?

If he really wanted to go and visit the shrine, he could have done it in a private way that would not have been picked up by media, so that no one would have known except himself and perhaps a few other people.

But he did not do that. I think people are questioning what kind of leader would do such a thing which was totally unnecessary and clearly inflammatory. Of all the things on his plate to deal with – many of which are very serious – why on Earth would have have chosen to engage in such an overtly inflammatory and insensitive act when he could have opted to have visited the shrine, if he really wanted, in a private way?

And so, despite the fact that he now claims that the visit was done privately, I think most people are floored that he would have decided to do something like that.

Of all the things to fight for politically, one would think that something like this would have been so far, far down the list as to not even be remotely considered. But the fact that it was put at the top makes other leaders question what the heck he is doing.

The U.S. is one country that is putting its neck on the line to back Japan and for its leader to do something like this seems incomrehensible. If it is an attempt to play internal politics as many are saying one really has to question the choice of priorities. The visit has created tension and headaches which could easily have been avoided.

Notice that I’m not even getting into the issue of the fact that there is so much official denial of the war crimes that were committed. Japan could have been big about its past, honest and open about the truth, and the world could now be moving on to new places. But its stuck in this crap because of what is difficult to not see as an incredibly bad decision on the part of Abe.