見出し：Abe’s visit to Yasukuni to further incite（を駆り立てる）hard-liners（強硬派の人たち） in China, South Korea
When U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel came to Tokyo in October, the pair paid an unexpected visit to a place considered neutral political ground in Chiyoda Ward.
No doubt the two were sending an indirect but unquestionably clear message to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by laying flowers at the Chidorigafuchi cemetery: don’t go to Yasukuni Shrine and stir up（を煽動する）war-related anger in East Asia.
Chidorigafuchi, located near Yasukuni Shrine, is dedicated to the remains of unidentified Japanese who died overseas in the war.
Many political leaders have visited the cemetery over the years to express their condolences（お悔やみ）for war victims without drawing political flak（きつい非難）for the wars Japan was engaged in during the 1930s and ’40s.
Abe often defended politicians’ visits to the contentious（論争のタネになる）Yasukuni Shrine by likening（なぞらえる）them with U.S. leaders’ visits to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Kerry and Hagel apparently signalled, however, that if Abe wanted to pay homage（敬意）to Japan’s war dead, he should go to Chidorigafuchi, not Yasukuni.
America believes it is vital（絶対に必要な）that Japan, China and South Korea enjoy stable relations at a time when Washington must address（に取り組む）various political and economic challenges in Asia.
But on Thursday Abe went ahead and visited Yasukuni. The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo immediately posted（を発表した）an unusually blunt（ぶっきらぼうな）statement indirectly criticizing his move.
“Japan is a valued ally and friend. Nevertheless, the United States is disappointed that Japan’s leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate（を悪化させる）tensions with Japan’s neighbors,” the statement read.
“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,” it read.
Abe has centered his diplomacy on Japan’s close ties with the United States, particularly when it comes to China’s growing military and economic presence.
Since his inauguration（就任）last December, he had maintained a relatively low profile（目立たないこと） toward China and South Korea over matters of wartime history. He avoided revising official apologies regarding Japan’s aggression（侵略）in other parts of Asia, despite earlier posturing（ポーズ）suggesting otherwise.
A high-ranking official close to Abe earlier noted that because Japan crucially needs U.S. assistance in dealing with a number of diplomatic issues, including the North Korean threat to security, efforts were made to soften his administration’s stance on sensitive historical issues.
“In my case, it all comes from consideration of (Japan’s relations) with the U.S.,” the official said.
But this time, the official apparently failed to persuade Abe to give Yasukuni Shrine a miss.
Experts speculated that Abe opted（選択した）to visit the shrine Thursday because he reckoned（と思った） Japan’s relations with China and South Korea couldn’t get any worse.
Abe has repeatedly said his door is open if Seoul or Beijing want to have a summit, but no such meeting has happened since he took office and instead relations have deteriorated（悪くなった）.
Abe didn’t visit Yasukuni on Aug. 15, the anniversary day of Japan’s World War II surrender, and apparently explored ways to arrange a summit in the fall. But China, with which Japan is recently and routinely confronting over its military forays（手出し）around the Senkaku Islands, and South Korea, which holds islets（小島たち）that Japan claims, were not interested in meeting.
Abe meanwhile had appeared to be mindful of the risks of enraging（を激怒させる）Beijing and Seoul and disappointing Washington at the same time.
He immediately issued a written statement and an English-translated version Thursday regarding his Yasukuni visit.
The statement looked rather unusual for a politician known for his hawkish, nationalist views. Abe repeatedly emphasized his visit was not designed to “pay homage to war criminals,” and reiterated that Japan should never wage（を行う）war again.
“Some people criticize the visit to Yasukuni as paying homage to war criminals, but the purpose of my visit today . . . is to report before the souls of the war dead how my administration has worked for one year and to renew the pledge that Japan must never wage war again.
“It is not my intention at all to hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people,” he said.
But Bonji Ohara, a China expert and research fellow at the Tokyo Foundation, said Abe’s visit to Yasukuni will only give hard-line Chinese leaders ammunition（材料）to take an even tougher stance against Japan.
China’s top leaders will find it even more difficult to resist such pressure, he said.
“It will be more difficult to solve such disputes（紛争）as those over the Senkaku Islands” in the East China Sea, Ohara said.
[語順・文法・表現に関する解説]
Abe’s visit to Yasukuni to further incite hard-liners in China, South Korea
新聞の見出しの不定詞は「未来」を表します。
When U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel came to Tokyo in October, the pair paid an unexpected visit to a place considered neutral political ground in Chiyoda Ward.
No doubt the two were sending an indirect but unquestionably clear message to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by laying flowers at the Chidorigafuchi cemetery: don’t go to Yasukuni Shrine and stir up（を煽動する）war-related anger in East Asia.
Chidorigafuchi, located near Yasukuni Shrine, is dedicated to the remains of unidentified Japanese who died overseas in the war.
Many political leaders have visited the cemetery over the years to express their condolences（お悔やみ）for war victims without drawing political flak（きつい非難）for the wars Japan was engaged in during the 1930s and ’40s.
Abe often defended politicians’ visits to the contentious（論争のタネになる）Yasukuni Shrine by likening（なぞらえる）them with U.S. leaders’ visits to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Kerry and Hagel apparently signalled, however, that if Abe wanted to pay homage（敬意）to Japan’s war dead, he should go to Chidorigafuchi, not Yasukuni.
America believes it is vital（絶対に必要な）that Japan, China and South Korea enjoy stable relations at a time when Washington must address（に取り組む）various political and economic challenges in Asia.
But on Thursday Abe went ahead and visited Yasukuni. The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo immediately posted（を発表した）an unusually blunt（ぶっきらぼうな）statement indirectly criticizing his move.
“Japan is a valued ally and friend. Nevertheless, the United States is disappointed that Japan’s leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate（を悪化させる）tensions with Japan’s neighbors,” the statement read.
“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,” it read.
Abe has centered his diplomacy on Japan’s close ties with the United States, particularly when it comes to China’s growing military and economic presence.
Since his inauguration（就任）last December, he had maintained a relatively low profile（目立たないこと） toward China and South Korea over matters of wartime history. He avoided revising official apologies regarding Japan’s aggression（侵略）in other parts of Asia, despite earlier posturing（ポーズ）suggesting otherwise.
A high-ranking official close to Abe earlier noted that because Japan crucially needs U.S. assistance in dealing with a number of diplomatic issues, including the North Korean threat to security, efforts were made to soften his administration’s stance on sensitive historical issues.
“In my case, it all comes from consideration of (Japan’s relations) with the U.S.,” the official said.
But this time, the official apparently failed to persuade Abe to give Yasukuni Shrine a miss.
Experts speculated that Abe opted（選択した）to visit the shrine Thursday because he reckoned（と思った） Japan’s relations with China and South Korea couldn’t get any worse.
Abe has repeatedly said his door is open if Seoul or Beijing want to have a summit, but no such meeting has happened since he took office and instead relations have deteriorated（悪くなった）.
Abe didn’t visit Yasukuni on Aug. 15, the anniversary day of Japan’s World War II surrender, and apparently explored ways to arrange a summit in the fall. But China, with which Japan is recently and routinely confronting over its military forays（手出し）around the Senkaku Islands, and South Korea, which holds islets（小島たち）that Japan claims, were not interested in meeting.
Abe meanwhile had appeared to be mindful of the risks of enraging（を激怒させる）Beijing and Seoul and disappointing Washington at the same time.
He immediately issued a written statement and an English-translated version Thursday regarding his Yasukuni visit.
The statement looked rather unusual for a politician known for his hawkish, nationalist views. Abe repeatedly emphasized his visit was not designed to “pay homage to war criminals,” and reiterated that Japan should never wage（を行う）war again.
“Some people criticize the visit to Yasukuni as paying homage to war criminals, but the purpose of my visit today . . . is to report before the souls of the war dead how my administration has worked for one year and to renew the pledge that Japan must never wage war again.
“It is not my intention at all to hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people,” he said.
But Bonji Ohara, a China expert and research fellow at the Tokyo Foundation, said Abe’s visit to Yasukuni will only give hard-line Chinese leaders ammunition（材料）to take an even tougher stance against Japan.
China’s top leaders will find it even more difficult to resist such pressure, he said.
“It will be more difficult to solve such disputes（紛争）as those over the Senkaku Islands” in the East China Sea, Ohara said.
[語順・文法・表現に関する解説]
Abe’s visit to Yasukuni to further incite hard-liners in China, South Korea
新聞の見出しの不定詞は「未来」を表します。
