he met with steve schachabot wh chairs the subcommittee on asia and the pacific. south korea criticized abe for visiting the shrine. diplomats in the u.s. embassy in tokyo issued a statement saying the united states was disappointed. abe has said he made the visit to pay his respects to the souls of those who gave their lives for their country, and to renew a pledge to never again wage war. chabot said he understood the reason for the visit but he hopes japan can improve its relationship with south korea. he said both nations are important allies. >>> japan's prime minister has started off the new year and the second year of his term with a bounce. a new nhk poll suggested a majority -- or suggests a majority of voters are satisfied with what he accomplished in the last 12 months. but they're divided over a move he made that sparked an international backlash. nhk conducted a phone interview last weekend. more than 1,000 people answered. 54% said they support abe's cabinet. that's an increase of 4 percentage points from our december poll. 31% said they don't back t