When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe travels to Washington this week for a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama, his first job may be to convince the president he's not a rightwing fanatic seeking confrontation in East Asia, but rather a calm partner who can work with the Americans to maintain peace and stability in the region.

Such fears partially stem from his last stint as prime minister.

In March 2007, Abe created an uproar by questioning the extent of the wartime Imperial Japanese Army's involvement in recruiting sex slaves, known euphemistically in Japan as the "comfort women." His comments sparked a war of words between rightwing politicians in Japan and human rights groups in the U.S. and South Korea.