"QUESTION: The Wall Street Journal last Thursday said that U.S. officials were seeking assurances from Japan that Prime Minister – Yasukuni – will not make a repeat visit to the shrine. And they’re also calling on the Japanese to refrain from further comment and actions that might fuel tensions in East Asia. And I’m wondering why the U.S. Government would take that approach. Was the disappointment comment earlier not enough?
"MS. PSAKI: Well, thank you for your question. We have expressed, as you noted, disappointment in the past, several weeks ago. Our position hasn’t changed. The report in The Wall Street Journal is inaccurate. We have always said we want Japan and its neighbors to deal with sensitive issues constructively and through dialogue, but it is inaccurate that we are seeking private assurances.
Thanks, everyone.
(b) But the Kyodo News report says little that is new.
(i) In English:
US Vice President Asked Abe Not to Visit Yasukuni: Sources. Kyodo News, Jan 29, 2014.
english.kyodonews.jp/news/2014/01/268417.html
(ii) In Chinese:
独家：拜登曾要求安倍勿参拜靖国神社. Kyodo News, Jan 29, 2014.
--------------------------
02:05 29 January 2014
U.S. vice president asked Abe not to visit Yasukuni: sources
TOKYO, Jan. 29, Kyodo
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden asked Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in December not to visit the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo to prevent a further deterioration in Japan's relations with its Asian neighbors but Abe refused, diplomatic sources said Tuesday.
Later in the month Abe visited the Shinto shrine, where convicted Japanese wartime leaders are honored along with war dead, triggering fierce criticism from China and South Korea, and leading the U.S. government to express disappointment at his decision in an unusually explicit manner.
As U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to visit Japan in April for talks with Abe, the rising tensions between Japan and the two neighboring countries, which could undermine U.S. interests in the region, will likely be high on the agenda and could dash Abe's hopes for enhancing Tokyo's security alliance with Washington.
----------------------
独家：拜登曾要求安倍勿参拜靖国神社
2014年01月29日 02時00分
【共同社1月29日电】数名日美关系消息人士28日透露，美国副总统拜登去年12月12日与日本首相安倍晋三举行电话会谈时提及参拜靖国神社问题，多次表示“不应前往”，要求日方自我克制。 安倍则对此表示拒绝称“我将自行判断”，于两周后的26日进行了参拜。