ABSTRACT
At the January 2014 World Economic Forum in Davos, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo stumbled on the world stage when he warned of the dangers of complacency regarding the possibility of conflict between China and Japan, drawing a parallel between the UK and Germany on the eve of World War I when European diplomats were “sleepwalking” into the abyss. The media suggested it was a warmongering speech, based apparently on a misleading translation. Given that Abe made a pilgrimage to the Yasukuni Shrine only three weeks earlier on 26 December 2013, it is understandable that the press was primed to assume the worst. This is because Yasukuni is widely viewed as “ground zero” for an unrepentant, glorifying narrative of Japan’s wartime rampage in the years 1931-45. While Beijing and Seoul’s criticism of Abe’s visit to the shrine was anticipated, Washington’s swift and sharp rebuke was not.
