Anger over shrine visit

Serious consequences warned after Abe pays war tribute

Shinzo Abe stunned the international community on Thursday by making himself the first sitting Japanese prime minister in seven years to visit a shrine that honors 14 World War II Class A war criminals among the country's war dead.

The abrupt move - widely viewed as rewriting public memory on Japan's militaristic past - enraged Japan's victimized neighbors including China and South Korea and disappointed Japan's traditional ally the United States.