Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been invited to address a joint session of US Congress on April 29 during his eight-day visit to the United States. The right-wing politician will be the first Japanese prime minister to do so.

The invitation, extended by House Speaker John Boehner on March 26, said "his address will provide an opportunity for the American people to hear from one of our closest allies about ways we can expand our cooperation on economic and security priorities".

Missing was any mention of Abe using the opportunity to clarify his highly controversial views on history, as the world and the United Nations prepare to observe the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II later this year. Abe's revisionist views on history have angered many in China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea, and other Asian countries that suffered the brutality of Japanese militarism before and during WWII.