Shrine visit unmasks Abe Cabinet's true sentiments

Shinzo Abe did indeed make history, of sorts, by becoming the first Japanese leader to visit the memorial above the wreckage of the USS Arizona in Hawaii and offering his "sincere and everlasting condolences" to those who died 75 years ago when Japan launched its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

Apparently, both the Japanese prime minister and the incumbent president of the United States, Barack Obama, wanted to give the impression that these former foes are seemingly "transcending recriminatory impulses" and putting behind them their historical enmity.

But does expressing condolences in this way really close the book?