Abe to express remorse over second world war

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe intends to express remorse over the second world war in a statement this year to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the conflict, in a move that breaks no new ground in wording, but is aimed at helping to smooth ties with China and South Korea.

Abe reiterated that his cabinet upholds the views of past Japanese administrations on the war, including the Murayama Statement, referring to referring to the 1995 apology made by then-premier Tomiichi Murayama on the 50th anniversary of the end of the war.

"The Abe administration intends to gather expertise and write a new statement to show to the world, including our remorse over the last war, our path as a democratic nation of peace and how we will contribute even more in future to Asia and to the world," Abe said at a year-opening news conference yesterday.

This year's anniversary on August 15 will be a crucial chance for Japan to rebuild relations with China and South Korea, which have been chilled by disputes over territory and views of wartime history that predate Abe's December 2012 election victory.

Abe's policies, including increasing the defence budget, lifting a ban on arms exports and reinterpreting the pacifist constitution to allow Japan to defend other countries, have also sparked unease.

President Xi Jinping said at a war commemoration event last month that "forgetting history means betrayal and denying the crime means committing it once again".