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靖国参拝は「挑発行為」＝米紙 （時事通信） - Yahoo!ニュース

米紙ワシントン・ポスト（電子版）は27日、安倍晋三首相の靖国神社参拝について「自身の国際的立場と日本の安全保障を弱体化させる恐れが強い挑発行為だ」と非難する社説を掲載した。これで米主要紙の社説は、参拝批判で足並みをそろえた。
　ポスト紙は首相に関し、「修正主義者的な歴史解釈で悪名高い」と紹介。首相は現実の政策を大日本帝国時代への郷愁と結び付け、米国との防衛協力の強化といった大義を自らの手で傷つけていると指摘した。　

Japanese prime minister’s visit to war memorial was provocative act - The Washington Post

It was a provocative act that is likely to further weaken Mr. Abe’s international standing and Japan’s security.

Mr. Abe is particularly notorious for his revisionist take on history, which is often linked to his practical goals of increasing defense spending and revising Japan’s postwar constitution to loosen the strict controls on its armed forces.

Given the behavior of China and North Korea, Mr. Abe has good reason to pursue some of these reforms and to seek closer defense cooperation with the United States. But when he appears to link his policies to nostalgia for Japan’s prewar empire, as he did this week, he undermines his own cause.

For its part, the Obama administration, despite its pleasure over the Okinawa base development, rightly felt compelled to publicly criticize Mr. Abe. A statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said, “The United States is disappointed that Japan’s leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan’s neighbors.” Some in Tokyo speculate that Mr. Abe has an interest in those tensions, because they could help him persuade skeptical Japanese to support his military and constitutional reforms. But the prime minister risks isolating his government in the region and making cooperation with the United States more difficult. Japan can ill afford either development.