Word: abely
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...Minister, but the reality is that both countries have long since written off Koizumi, who leaves office in a month. Solving the intractable question of Yasukuni - and possibly ending Japan's virtual diplomatic isolation in Asia - will fall to Koizumi's likely successor, the hawkish Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe. Both China and South Korea have signaled their willingness to give Abe a chance once he takes power, to allow him to begin to repair the immense damage that Koizumi has done to Japan's Asian relations. But with national pride is surging in Japan - on Wednesday the government reacted...
...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...
...blue-blooded conservative who has questioned the validity of the Tokyo War Crimes trials, Abe has visited Yasukuni repeatedly in the past, most recently this April, according to Japanese news reports. But unlike Koizumi, he has steadfastly refused to say whether he will go if he is elected Prime Minister. "[Abe] has made it clear that he doesn't want to make Yasukuni a campaign issue," says a Tokyo-based academic. "Koizumi is responsible for politicizing Yasukuni, and Abe is determined not to follow...
...Hawks and Kangaroos Re "After Koizumi" [July 3]: you reported that Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe is known as a hawk and has even questioned the validity of the post-World War II Tokyo Tribunals war-crimes trials. I strongly support his position. Japan was forced to accept the judgments of the Tokyo Tribunals, a kangaroo court set up by the Allied forces as an act of revenge against Japan. It is high time that Japan declare it is not bound by the Tokyo Tribunals. Misao Nakaya Naha, Japan...
...question of just how tightly to turn the economic screws may be one that Japan prefers to decide in consultation with the other key players in the crisis - the U.S., South Korea and China - in the days ahead. At a Wednesday press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said the missile test was "a serious problem," but that Japan would explore its options, gather more information and confer with other affected nations before it took further action...