Known for making free-thinking comments and actions that are politically awkward for her husband, Akie Abe has done it again.

The wife of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a surprise visit Sunday to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, a venue that no Japanese prime minister has visited, least of all Abe.

Critics see the conservative leader as maintaining a revisionist view on Japan's actions in World War II, but his wife's gesture has left many wondering if Shinzo Abe will pay his respects at the site later this year.