You know your reputation in North Asia has hit rock bottom when a dictator who recently executed his uncle thinks you're dangerous. Kim Jong Un's comparison of Shinzo Abe to Adolf Hitler should prompt a moment of solemn reflection for Japan's leader.
Yes, the Dear Leader isn't the most sober political observer. (Some reports claimed he did away with his dear uncle and No. 2, Jang Song Thaek, by feeding him alive to rabid dogs.) But this is only the latest Hitler comparison Abe has attracted recently. Abe's Dec. 26 visit to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which honors the souls of 14 Class A war criminals from World War II, had Chinese officials slamming him for honoring the "Nazis" of Asia.
South Korea is equally enraged by Abe's questionable grasp of history. Last September in Seoul, President Park Geun-hye snapped at U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel when he encouraged her to improve ties with Abe's Japan, a fellow U.S. ally. "If Germany had continued to say things that inflicted pain, while acting as if all was well, would European integration have been possible?" Park asked Hagel. "I think the answer is no." Park reportedly lectured Hagel about Abe's "total absence of sincerity."