Tensions in East Asia would rise if Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, the 68th anniversary of Japan's surrender in the war, according to a U.S. government report.
A visit by Abe or members of his Cabinet to the Shinto shrine in central Tokyo on the "sensitive" anniversary of Japan's surrender "could again spike tension in the region," the report by the influential Congressional Research Service says.
Titled "Japan-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress," Friday's report refers to sharp reactions by China and South Korea to past trips by influential politicians to Yasukuni, which honors convicted Class-A war criminals among Japan's war dead.