Abe must understand – and the U.S. should exert pressure on him – that the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II is prime time for him to profoundly reflect on Japan’s wartime crimes. If Abe goes too far in the wrong direction, there will be no peace in the Asia-Pacific and the hard-won beginning of a Sino-Japanese détente may vanish.

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the WWII in the Pacific, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe plans to make a statement of apology, which is already drawing concerns from the international community. Abe’s denials and changes to historical accounts mean that an “Abe Statement” could turn out to be a declaration on Abe’s “proactive pacifism” rather than a statement on Japan’s remorse and apology.

Curtis Chin explores who had the “best” and “worst” year in Asia, a list ranging from Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslims to India’s space program; each case sheds light on possible areas for China-U.S. cooperation.

Relations between Tokyo and Seoul have always been somewhat frosty, but recent developments are accentuating the animosity. Obama administration officials continue to press Seoul and Tokyo to resolve their differences on the Dokdo/Takeshima dispute, the comfort women issue, and other grievances. A comprehensive reconciliation between Seoul and Tokyo, U.S. leaders believe, is imperative to facilitate meaningful trilateral cooperation to deal with North Korea’s threatening behavior and China’s looming presence in the region.

Japan and the US are revising defense guidelines for the first time since 1997, and though not explicit, China’s sovereignty claims are the cause. Yet both Japan and China are making slight efforts to defuse escalation and reemphasize communication.

Two years after the zenith of tension on Diaoyu Islands, the APEC conference in Beijing presents an opportunity for China-Japan bilateral relations to move forward if a common understanding of history and sovereignty is reached.

Threat perception is leading to a security crisis in East Asia. Zhang Tuosheng suggests six steps for reducing misperceptions and stemming the crisis.

In the wake of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue, Ted Galen Carpenter assess the speech and subsequently delineates three measures that are critical to Shinzo Abe’s new policy declaration.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with the political support of right wing conservative forces, is seeking to amend Article 9 of the Constitution, which stipulates that Japan is no longer able to maintain a standing army, navy and air force, and forfeits all rights to belligerency.

The philosopher George Santayana warned that "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Both Japan and China need to think of the promise of an Asian century and the stakes of continued antagonism, and begin to shape a future that serves their mutual long-term interests.