OK, now you are kidding me

NCND.

Seriously.

In response to whether he paid for the installation of a masakaki at Yasukuni for the Spring Festival, the Prime Minister told the press last week:

"As for whether I will pay a visit to the Shrine or not, or as to whether I had [a masakaki] installed or not, I will not say."

Check it out here.

Not only does he say he will not tell--but he repeats, over and over again, that he will not tell.

Look, repeating to the press "I will neither confirm nor deny" makes sense when you are talking military ops, black ops or the presence of nuclear weapons. When you go all NCND over paying for the shrine decorations, you are getting a little full of yourself.