Yasukuni to remain an issue
05/30/2006 @ 12:00 pm
Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe has indicated Yasukuni Shrine visits will continue to be an issue if he succeeds Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi who is stepping at the end of this year. Abe said that he would continue to visit Yasukuni if he becomes Prime Minister.
“My view on visits to Yasukuni Shrine is the same as I have explained many times,” Abe said at a regular press conference. “If there is any misunderstanding, it’s important to explain our views sincerely to China and South Korea and try to resolve such misunderstandings.”
But he doesn’t seem very clear on how Japan will fare in the World Cup.
May 30th, 2006 at 12:07 pmHe’s saying what his backers need to hear. He can’t go changing his stance now, and it’s unrealistic to expect him to.
May 30th, 2006 at 12:26 pmWhile I’ve seen that Mr Fukuda is slowly gaining on him in opinion polls, I haven’t seen the criteria on which the people concerned were polled. Perhaps it is this issue alone which is responsible for the poll results?
Yasukuni is the only way Japanese so-called bad-ass politicians can get a rise out of their Chinese and Korean neighbors anymore. Just like the BSE issue is the only trump card they have with the U.S.
May 30th, 2006 at 12:54 pmI would think more about the mega-trillion yen national debt and the pensions if I were him
right on the dot with the last comment. It’s like they, (China, Japan, and Korea), can’t live without some drama between them.
June 2nd, 2006 at 9:09 am