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 China and South Korea have repeatedly expressed anger in the past
over Japanese politicians' visits to Yasukuni Shrine, where Japanese
leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal after World
War Two are honored along with those who died in battle.
The two countries have been especially touchy about visits to the
shrine by serving Japanese prime ministers, and Abe is the first
leader in office to pay homage at Yasukuni in the past seven years.
Business ties between China and Japan, the world's second- and
third-largest economies, have improved after a downturn sparked by a
flare-up last year in a row over tiny East China Sea islands
controlled by Japan but also claimed by China.
But worries are growing that an unintended incident between Japanese
and Chinese aircraft and ships playing cat-and-mouse near the
disputed isles could escalate into a military clash.
Abe, a conservative who took office for a second term exactly one
year ago, said he did not intend to hurt feelings in neighboring
nations.
"There is criticism based on the misconception that this is an act
to worship war criminals, but I visited Yasukuni Shrine to report to
the souls of the war dead on the progress made this year and to
convey my resolve that people never again suffer the horrors of
war," he told reporters after the visit.
Television carried live video of his motorcade making its way to the
shrine, built in 1896 by Emperor Meiji to enshrine war dead.
Yasukuni played a key role in the wartime state Shinto religion
which mobilized the population to fight in the name of a divine
emperor.
Abe, dressed in a morning suit and a silver tie, bowed at the shrine
before following a Shinto priest into an inner sanctum.
Stressing that it was natural for a nation's leader to pay respect
to those who died for their country, Abe said he shared the view of
past Japanese leaders that ties with China and South Korea were
important and that to make them firm was in Japan's national
interests — and said that he would like to explain that if given the
opportunity.
"EXTREMELY DANGEROUS"
Tokyo's relations with Beijing and Seoul are already strained by
territorial rows and disputes stemming from Japan's wartime
occupation of large parts of China and its 1910-1945 colonization of
the Korean peninsula.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Abe's action had pushed Japan
in an "extremely dangerous" direction.
"Japan must bear full responsibility for the serious political
consequences," the foreign ministry's website quoted Wang as telling
the Japanese ambassador to China, who was summoned to the ministry.
A commentary in state-run news agency Xinhua added: "Choosing a
sensitive time to visit a highly controversial and notorious place,
Abe knows perfectly what he is doing and the consequences. Instead
of a pledge against war, as Abe has claimed, the visit is a
calculated provocation to stoke further tension."
In an e-mail sent to Japanese nationals registered with the Japanese
embassy in Beijing, the embassy warned its citizens to stay away
from any demonstrations and to not congregate in big groups.
"Given the media coverage, we fear the deterioration in sentiment
towards Japan," the embassy said. "In dealing with Chinese people,
pay attention to your behavior and your language."
South Korea termed the visit a deplorable and anachronistic act that
damaged ties between the two countries and summoned a top Japanese
diplomat in Seoul to protest.
"We cannot withhold regret and anger over the visit," said Minister
of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo Jin-ryong.
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Washington — which has welcomed Abe's more proactive defense
policies but been unhappy at his historical revisionism — also
expressed disappointment.
"Japan's leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate
tensions with Japan's neighbors," a U.S. Embassy statement in Tokyo
said.
"The United States hopes that both Japan and its neighbors will find
constructive ways to deal with sensitive issues from the past, to
improve their relations, and to promote cooperation in advancing our
shared goals of regional peace and stability."
The head of Abe's coalition partner, the Buddhist-backed New Komeito — who had urged the premier not to make the pilgrimage -
called the visit regrettable in light of the problems it as likely
to cause with Japan's neighbors.
IMPACT OF VISIT UNKNOWN
Japanese exports to China have recovered after a sharp drop
following scattered protests in China in 2012. That was sparked by
Japan buying disputed East China Sea isles that are claimed by both
countries to fend off a bid by the then-governor of Tokyo, a
nationalist, to purchase them.
It was unclear whether Abe's Yasukuni visit, the first by a serving
premier since 2006, would dampen business ties again.
"We don't know how much impact the visit might have. I hope this
will not develop into a huge problem." Kyodo news agency quoted a
Japanese car company executive as saying.
Paying respects at the shrine is part of Abe's conservative agenda
to restore Japan's pride in its past and recast its wartime history
with a less apologetic tone. He also wants to ease the restraints of
Japan's post-World War Two pacifist constitution on the military.
No serving Japanese prime minister has visited the shrine since
Junichiro Koizumi's annual pilgrimages to Yasukuni during his
2001-2006 tenure.
Some political experts said Abe had probably calculated that his
relatively high voter ratings, based largely on hopes for plans to
revive the economy, could withstand any criticism over his Yasukuni
pilgrimage, which would also shore up support in his conservative
base.
He may also have felt that with ties with Beijing and Seoul in a
deep freeze, a visit would hardly make things worse.
"He probably thinks that it's OK, that's he's relatively popular and
it's a matter of conviction," said Koichi Nakano, a professor at
Sophia University in Tokyo.
"But everyone knew with Koizumi ... he wasn't a revisionist
nationalist. But with Abe, that is precisely the question some
people were asking. Now we know the answer."
(Additional reporting by Mari Saito and Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo
and Ben Blanchard, Sui-Lee Wee and Norihiko Shirouzu in Beijing;
editing by Shinichi Saoshiro and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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