Shinzo Abe

Shinzo Abe visits Pearl Harbor just as the spectre of internment returns

by Rachel Pistol

While everyone is familiar with the most obvious consequence of the Pearl Harbor attack, the assault kicked off a number of events in the US itself that still resonate today – none more so than the policy of internment, which involved the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans.

Pearl Harbor Historian: Reconciliation almost came 50 years earlier

It was John F. Kennedy who had a vision for the first real act of reconciliation with Japan.

Abe’s Pearl Harbor Visit Isn’t a First, but It Can Still Be a Milestone

It now appears that the Japanese prime minister is the fourth to visit, and that one of the previous three includes Nobusuke Kishi, his grandfather.

There are fears in Japan that the Abe government is turning fascist

by Gavan McCormack

Little of this sense of urgency is perceptible in the writing about Japan published outside the country.

281 Japanese scholars urge Abe to offer apology for history

The move comes a little over a month after Abe did not apologize for and ignored the issue of wartime sexual slavery in a speech before U.S. Congress, drawing condemnation from South Koreans.

Hundreds protest Japanese leader ahead of California visit

Hundreds of people protested outside the Japanese Consulate in San Francisco, calling on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to apologize for his country's treatment of people from other Asian countries during World War II.

History will be trailing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his visit to the United States.

25 House members are urging Abe to address sensitive issues of history.

NYT Editorial: Shinzo Abe needs to face up to history

by NYT Editorial

Many Japanese right-wingers believe their country was wrongly maligned by America and its allies after the war. Mr. Abe has given the impression that he believes Japan has already done enough to make amends for its militarism and atrocities.

Japan's global PR message could misfire with focus on wartime past

A push by Japan to correct perceived bias in accounts of the country’s wartime past is creating a row that risks muddling the positive message in a mammoth public relations campaign to win friends abroad.

American historians issue statement opposing Japanese PM’s efforts to alter history textbooks

Japanese government has attempted to revise sections of textbooks about the comfort women

U.S. Textbook Skews History, Prime Minister of Japan Says

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan on Thursday criticized an American textbook that he said inaccurately depicted Japan’s actions during World War II.

Shinzo Abe’s Gone and Done It

by Tom Clifford

For the economy Japanese prime minister Abe has arrows, for foreign policy he wants missiles and for the constitution, well, he has just driven a tank over it.

What's Japan Turning into under Prime Minister Abe?

by Tom Clifford

Shinzo Abe is using Yasukuni to help forge a greater role for the Japanese military.

Reasons to Worry About What Japan Just Did

by Tom Clifford

Tokyo overturned a 50-year ban on selling military hardware overseas.

Abe’s NSA? The Japanese Government Embraces Secrecy

by Alexis Dudden

It's not just the United States which is obsessed with secrecy.

Abe Seeks Dose of Pride in Education Overhaul

Among the changes in the school curriculum are a renewed emphasis on Japan's territorial claims.

Japan’s Abe Defends Yasukuni Shrine Visit

“I had no intention whatsoever to hurt the feelings of people in China and Korea.”

Abe’s Version of History Doesn’t Sit Well With Chinese

Abe compared the Anglo-German relationship before World War I with Japan and China today.

Abe to skip visit to Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15

To prevent relations with China and South Korea from further deteriorating, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decided not to visit Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, the date marking the end of World War II, sources said.Instead, Abe will make a personal monetary offering in his position as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to the shrine, which memorializes Japan’s war dead along with 14 Class-A war criminals, according to the sources.Abe has been forced into a delicate balancing act concerning Yasukuni Shrine.The prime minister has been repeatedly asked about his plans for Aug. 15. His usual reply has been: “Because the very question of whether I visit the shrine will by itself become a political and diplomatic issue, I will not say whether or not I will visit.”...

Abe refuses to move into prime minister's 'haunted' mansion

Traditionally, Japanese tell ghost stories in the middle of summer, perhaps as a chilling way to take their minds off the heat.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was no exception when he invited executives of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party to a dinner at the Prime Minister's Official Residence on July 30.“Why don't we live here together? I am frightened," Abe is quoted as telling one participant. "I do not feel like living here because there are ghosts.”Abe and his Cabinet have categorically denied that ghosts appear at the structure, associated with two bloody coup attempts by the military before World War II....