{"id":29239,"date":"2016-12-28T21:14:19","date_gmt":"2016-12-28T21:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=29239"},"modified":"2016-12-28T21:14:19","modified_gmt":"2016-12-28T21:14:19","slug":"japan-hails-pearl-harbor-visit-while-bracing-for-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=29239","title":{"rendered":"Japan hails Pearl Harbor visit while bracing for Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"President
President Barack Obama delivers remarks while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe listens at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam's Kilo Pier on yesterday in Honolulu, Hawaii. Abe is the first Japanese prime minister to visit Pearl Harbor with a US president and the first to visit the USS Arizona Memorial. AFP photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

AFP, TOKYO: Japanese on Wednesday hailed a historic visit by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Pearl Harbor, praising his message of reconciliation with the United States but wary of the future after Donald Trump takes office.<\/p>\n

Interest in Abe\u2019s visit to the site of Japan\u2019s December 7, 1941 attack that drew the US into World War II has been high, with many favourably comparing it to President Barack Obama\u2019s journey this year to Hiroshima.<\/p>\n

Both visits were highly choregraphed and in their remarks\u2014Obama in Hiroshima and Abe in Hawaii\u2014neither apologised or even explicitly said their countries carried out the respective attacks. But despite the careful words, the symbolism of their standing together again, this time at Pearl Harbor, was clear to most in Japan.<\/p>\n

National broadcaster NHK provided live coverage of their joint address around 7 am Japan time (2200 GMT Tuesday). It was delivered after the two men visited the memorial to the battleship USS Arizona, sunk in the surprise Japanese attack.<\/p>\n

Kuniyoshi Takimoto, 95, a former navy aircraft mechanic on a carrier that took part in the raid, praised Abe\u2019s words.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a beautiful message that deeply reflected the sentiment of both American and Japanese people,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n

But Takimoto was also critical of Abe\u2019s hawkish policy to expand the role of Japan\u2019s constitutionally constrained military, including enabling combat missions abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe beautiful message has a catch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Abe\u2019s visit was slightly overshadowed by one of his own ministers, who visited the controversial Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo just hours after Abe went to Pearl Harbor.<\/p>\n

Masahiro Imamura, minister in charge of the reconstruction of northern Japan after the 2011 tsunami, was quoted by public broadcaster NHK as saying the timing of his visit was \u201ca coincidence\u201d.<\/p>\n

But Haruko Satou, professor of international politics at Osaka University, suggested that while Imamura\u2019s true intention was unknown the timing was suspicious.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s natural to think that he chose the same day when Prime Minister Abe visited Pearl Harbor,\u201d Satou told AFP.<\/p>\n

Imamura\u2019s action is \u201clikely to have a negative impact on Japan\u2019s diplomacy and offset the positive image of Abe\u2019s historic visit\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n

Abe\u2019s visit was also closely watched in China, where it was noted that he stressed ties with the US over Asia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Japan really wants to reconcile over historical issues, Abe chose the wrong place,\u201d the nationalist Global Times newspaper commented, saying he should visit Nanjing, the site of a 1937 Japanese massacre, or elsewhere in China. China\u2019s foreign ministry also weighed in, with spokeswoman Hua Chunying calling for a \u201csincere apology\u201d to Asian countries that suffered from Japanese militarism.<\/p>\n

Abe aimed to highlight the significance of close military and economic relations with the US as Trump prepares to assume power amid major questions about his policies, several Japanese media outlets said.<\/p>\n

Trump, during his campaign, accused Japan of not paying its fair share in supporting the military alliance, and suggested Tokyo could even develop its own nuclear deterrent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AFP, TOKYO: Japanese on Wednesday hailed a historic visit by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Pearl Harbor, praising his message of reconciliation with the United States but wary of the future after Donald Trump takes office. Interest in Abe\u2019s visit to the site of Japan\u2019s December 7, 1941 attack that drew the US into World […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":29240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n