With the visit of Japanese leader Shinzo Abe to the United States this week, the prime minister will capture global attention during his historic speech to a Joint Session of Congress on Wednesday. His grandfather, Kishi Nobosuke, addressed the House of Representatives in 1957, as did Prime Minister Ikeda Hayato in 1961. But the address to a Joint Session is a first for a Japanese leader, and (given his grandfather’s speech), a personal milestone too.

In advance of the trip, a great deal of media coverage has focused on how Abe, in his speech, will refer to Japan’s past. (Here’s one example, featuring me…) Many expect that Abe’s 2014 speech in Australia will serve as a model. See here for my article praising the speech as a textbook example of remembrance among reconciled countries.

But given anticipation of the 70th year anniversary of the end of World War II, given Congressional pressure, and given disturbing episodes of denial of past human rights abuses in Japan — including from Abe himself — this model probably won’t satisfy audiences. Observers will want Abe to clearly admit and condemn past abuses such as the wartime sex slaves.

Abe’s visit has already commenced. On Monday April 27 the prime minister spoke at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government (speech available here), before his departure to Washington, where his itinerary took him to Arlington National Cemetery and the US Holocaust Museum. In Washington Abe meets with President Obama to discuss negotiations on the TPP trade agreement, and the two countries are expected to release the revised Guidelines for Defense Cooperation.

Far be it from me to disrespect to the import of history issues, but the Guidelines (as Adam Liff and James Schoff capably discuss) are the real story of Abe’s visit. It’s been 18 years since the Guidelines’ last revision. Now, two allies, confronting a profoundly changed regional security environment, are coordinating a more efficient defense against perceived new threats. All of this is occurring as Japan is contemplating significant changes in its postwar grand strategy. For all of these reasons, this summit is one to watch.