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Will Japan’s Abe attend China’s World War II victory parade?

If you were Abe Shinzo, the Japanese leader sometimes accused of nationalistic tendencies and a desire to whitewash Japan's imperial history, would you attend a World War II victory parade in China that will likely be overflowing with anti-Japanese sentiment?

Right now, that's a pertinent question in East Asia, where rumors have been swirling that Abe might visit Beijing on Sept. 3, the day when China will celebrate the 70th anniversary of “victory in the Chinese People’s War Against Japanese Aggression” with a grandiose military parade.

On Tuesday, Japanese daily Mainichi Shimbun ran a front page story citing a diplomatic sources that said Abe would travel to China to meet with President Xi Jinping on Sept. 3. According to the newspaper, Abe did not plan to attend the parade "on the grounds that the event will center on military affairs," but the Japanese leader would be at events in the afternoon after the parade.

However, a day later, the Chinese Foreign Ministry disputed the account, telling China Daily that it "has not heard of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's September visit to China," though the spokesperson for the foreign ministry reiterated that Abe had been invited to the march. A spokesperson for the Japanese Foreign Ministry had also told Bloomberg that no final decision on a trip had been made.

Conflicting reports may reflect different perspectives on whether the carefully-worded statement made by Abe on the 70th anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender had placated its neighbors, many of whom still feel that the country has not apologized sufficiently for imperial-era atrocities. As he read his statement last Saturday, Abe had referenced the "tolerance" shown by the Chinese people in taking care of 3,000 Japanese children left behind after the war, a moment some took as an olive branch directed toward Beijing.

Diplomatic sources had suggested to Mainichi that the language of Abe's statement – which included words like "deep remorse" but stopped short of a clear apology – had won over Beijing. It was also reported that Japan had reaffirmed that it would respect a number of agreements between the two countries, and that Abe had promised to not visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, where a number of war criminals are commemorated alongside 2.5 million war dead. Abe has visited the shrine before but did not do so this year.

However, a glance at the Chinese media suggested that Abe's statement was not quite so warmly received. The People's Daily had criticized a lack of "sincerity" in Abe's statement. "Up to this day, Japan has yet to manage a clean break-up with its disgraceful past," an article in the newspaper, a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, had read. State news agency Xinhua called Abe's statement "watered down," a "retrogression," and "rife with rhetorical twists" in its own commentary.

If Abe were

to meet with Xi in September, it wouldn't be the first time. The pair had their first official meeting during a regional summit last September, which was noteworthy for the glum expressions on their faces as they shook hands. When they met again in April, however, there were signs that their body language was easier. Experts say that despite the pressure of history, both leaders are keen to maintain good political and economic ties. By skipping the military parade but attending other events, Abe would be following a pattern established by German Chancellor Angela Merkel when she visited Moscow for World War II commemorations this year.

Xi may cut a lonely figure in Beijing, however. Despite the grand scale of the planned parade – more than 2.8 million new flowerpots, olive branches and arrangements shaped by doves have been ordered, The Post's Emily Rauhala reports – the guest list is looking a little sparse. Only a small number of nations, including Russia, Mongolia, Egypt and the Czech Republic, have actually confirmed that they will be attending.