German Chancellor Merkel reminds Japan to deal with history of second world war

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, referring to her nation's own experience, reminded Japan yesterday of the need to squarely confront its wartime past, but also signalled that neighbouring countries must do their part to achieve reconciliation.

The polite reminder came as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was preparing to issue a statement to mark the 70th anniversary of Japan's defeat in the second world war, the legacy of which still plagues Tokyo's ties with China and South Korea.

The statement will be closely watched by Beijing and Seoul, which suffered under Japanese militarism, as well as Tokyo's close ally, Washington.

Abe has said he intends to express remorse over the war and that his cabinet upholds past apologies, including the landmark 1995 statement by then-premier Tomiichi Murayama. But it is unclear whether Abe will repeat the "heartfelt apology" and the reference to "colonial rule and aggression" made in that statement.

In a speech at the start of her first visit to Japan since 2008, Merkel referred to a 1985 speech by the late German president Richard von Weizsaecker in which he called the end of the second world war in Europe a "day of liberation" and said those who closed their eyes to the past were "blind to the present".

"Germany was lucky to be accepted in the community of nations after the horrible experience that the world had to meet with Germany during the period of National Socialism (Nazism) and the Holocaust," she said.