Off the wire
• China's Li Chao top seeded at int'l chess champsionships in Vietnam  • China's coal mine accident deaths drop to 931 last year  • China issues white paper on judicial transparency  • Gold price closes lower in Hong Kong  • U.S. envoy to S. Korea discharged from hospital after knife attack  • Myanmar to play Japan, Laos in AFC U-23 Championship qualifier warm-up  • Volumes up, returns down as Laos' mining figures confirm impact of global commodity prices  • China adds 10.6 GW solar capacity in 2014  • Foreign exchange rates in Hong Kong  • Foreign exchange rates in India  
You are here: 　 Home

Abe gov't succeeds past cabinets' historical recognition: Japanese FM

Xinhua, March 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

Regarding visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel's call for Japan to "look squarely at history," Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government has succeeded past cabinets' historical recognition.

"Japanese military has caused numerous losses and great pain to people of many countries, especially in neighboring Asian countries. On this point, Abe's cabinet shares same recognition with past cabinets."

Merkel has urged Japan to confront its wartime conduct, citing Germany's ability to "face our history" and reconcile with victims of its Nazi past during a lecture in Tokyo Monday.

The German chancellor's diplomatic nudge came amid speculation that Abe may water down previous expressions of remorse in a new official statement to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the World War II, and risk inflaming tensions with its neighbors.

Shinichi Kitaoka, the deputy chairman of an advisory panel on Abe's 70th anniversary statement, also said Monday that he wants the prime minister to acknowledge Japan waged "a war of invasion" in the landmark statement. Endi