Chinese diplomat criticizes Abe's visit to controversial war shrine

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to a war shrine is an effort to rewrite the history of his country's role in World War II, a Chinese diplomat said. Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to the United States, said in an interview with Chinese-language media the international community must not allow Abe to alter the post-war order and return Japan to a path of militarism, China official Xinhua News Agency reported. Cui said Abe's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo Dec. 26 wasn't an isolated act, but a deliberate plan with political aims. The Yasukuni Shrine honors Japan's war dead, including 14 convicted WWII war criminals. Iwane Matsui, responsible for the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in which more than 300,000 Chinese were killed, and Hideki Tojo, prime minister when Japanese troops attacked the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii in 1941, are among those honored by the shrine. "Abe's visit totally reflects his historical views, political orientation and policy directions," said Cui, who once was China's ambassador to Japan. Cui urged the international community to a stand against Abe's ill-conceived actions, Xinhua said. "We shall not allow the reversal of the post-war order, which was built on the sacrifice of tens of millions of lives," Cui said. "[We] shall not allow the repetition of the tragic sufferings Japan's aggressions brought to Chinese, Korean and American peoples in those years; and we shall not allow Abe to lead Japan in the wrong direction once again."