JAPAN will express remorse for its actions during World War II on the 70th anniversary of its end this coming August, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said today.

He is notorious for his nationalist and pro-militarist views and there had been speculation that he might downplay Tokyo’s criminal responsibility for the war. 

However, he sought to reassure the world that he would not veer from past official statements on Japan’s wartime responsibility.

“The Abe cabinet will uphold the general stance on history of successive prime ministers, including the Murayama statement,” he said, referring to the 1995 apology made by then prime minister Tomiichi Murayama on the 50th anniversary of the war’s end.

Mr Abe said that the government would draft a new statement “that includes Japan’s remorse for the war,” although he stopped short of offering an apology.

Neighbouring China and Korea, which were both victims of Japanese aggression in World War II, would be angered by any backtracking.