Any chance that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will get his wish for a summit with China may hinge on the commemoration of the 69th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II at Tokyo's contentious Yasukuni war shrine.
Yasukuni is seen by many as a symbol of Japan's past aggression in Asia as 14 Class-A war criminals are enshrined there along with millions of war dead. Any visits by high-ranking government officials to the site rankle China and South Korea, a country that holds a holiday Friday to mark the end of Japanese colonial rule 69 years ago.
Abe has a choice visit and risk sparking protests from China and South Korea as he did when he went to the shrine in December, or stay away and raise the odds of a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, while angering his nationalist base. Abe hasn't met Xi since taking office in December 2012 as ties between Asia's two largest economies frayed over territorial and historical issues.