Jiji Press reported that Prime Minister Abe has decided not to visit Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in WWII. Abe instead plans to send a sacred tree offering to the Shinto shrine as the LDP president. This will be the fourth consecutive year for Abe to forgo visiting Yasukuni on Aug. 15. The prime minister probably made the decision out of consideration for Japan’s relations with China and South Korea, which oppose cabinet ministers’ homage to the shrine, and the United States, which calls for stability in East Asia.