The Obama administration had been pressing Abe not to aggravate regional tensions by visiting Yasukuni – an entreaty reiterated by Vice President Joe Biden during a recent stopover in Tokyo on his way to Beijing. In fact, Biden’s tour deepened Japan’s security concerns, because it highlighted America’s focus on balancing its relationships in East Asia, even if that means tolerating an expansionist China as the strategic equivalent of an allied Japan.
奥巴马政府一直在敦促安倍不要因为参拜靖国神社加剧地区紧张——副总统拜登在访问北京之旅中特意经停东京，重申这一要求。事实上，拜登之旅加深了日本的安全担心，因为这强调了美国重在平衡其在东亚的关系，即使这意味着容忍扩张主义的中国，把它视为与盟友日本一样重要的战略考虑点。