RISING JAPAN-CHINA TENSIONS. “Every year on August 15, the date of Japan’s surrender in World War II, Japanese officials visit the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo to honor the country’s war dead. The shrine honors a number of convicted war criminals, and the visits anger Asian countries that greatly suffered under Japanese rule. This year’s visit comes with tensions running especially high after the Japanese coast guard arrested 15 Chinese activists on the Senkaku Islands. These islands (which are also claimed by Taiwan) have symbolic value and are located near a potentially gas-rich area.”