Japan PM Fukuda voices remorse for WWII

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-15 16:32

Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda walks towards an alter to offer a chrysanthemum during a memorial service for those who died in the war, during a ceremony marking the 63rd anniversary of Japan's surrender during World War Two, at Budokan Hall in Tokyo August 15, 2008. [Agencies]

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Friday expressed Japan's remorse for pain inflicted on other countries as the nation marked the anniversary of defeat in World War II.

Fukuda, known for his conciliatory views on history issues, took part in a nationally broadcast annual memorial service in the presence of Emperor Akihito, whose father Hirohito surrendered exactly 63 years ago.

"The nation inflicted significant damages and pain on many countries, especially on people in Asian countries," Fukuda said.

"Here I express, on behalf of the nation, deep remorse and humble condolences for all of the people who fell victim," he said.

Unlike his two predecessors and two of his cabinet ministers, Fukuda did not go to the Yasukuni war shrine. The site honours war dead, including war criminals, and is seen by China and the two Koreas as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

Instead of paying homage at the shrine, Fukuda decided to offer flowers at a secular cemetery to war dead near Yasukuni before attending the memorial service.

Emperor Hirohito, who was revered as divine and had never spoken to the public before, went on the radio on August 15, 1945 to announce Japan had to "bear the unbearable" and surrender as its cities lay in ruins, two of them obliterated by US nuclear bombs.

Passions about the war still run high in East Asia, with many Chinese and Koreans resentful over Japanese atrocities on their soil. Koreans celebrate "Liberation Day" on August 15.

Fukuda has placed a priority on mending ties with China and South Korea since taking office in September last year.

The two countries refused high-level contact with Japan during the 2001-2006 premiership of Junichiro Koizumi due to his visits to the Yasukuni shrine.

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