Japan PM Ishiba expresses 'remorse' on World War II surrender anniversary

Japan marked the 80th anniversary of its World War II surrender Friday with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressing "remorse" over its role, using the term in official commemorations for the first time since 2013.

“We will never repeat the tragedy of the war. We will never go the wrong way,” Ishiba said. “Once again, we must deeply keep to our hearts the remorse and lesson from that war.”

Ishiba, noting Japan’s mostly postwar-born population “who do not know the war,” pledged to pass on “the memory of the tragedy of war and non-war determination through generations and stick to actions toward achieving a lasting peace.”

About 4,500 officials and bereaved families observed a moment of silence at noon in Tokyo's Budokan hall as the country paid tribute to more than 3 million war dead amid growing concern over fading wartime memories.

Meanwhile, dozens of Japanese right-wing politicians and their supporters came to pray at the nearby Yasukuni Shrine, including Shinjiro Koizumi, the agriculture minister considered as a top candidate to replace the beleaguered prime minister.

Koizumi, the son of popular former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, whose Yasukuni visit as a serving leader in 2001 outraged China, is a regular at the shrine.

The shrine has come under fire from Japan's neighbours in the past as it honours convicted war criminals. Countries targeted by the Japanese war of aggression, especially China and South Korea, see visits to the shrine as a lack of remorse about Japan’s wartime past.

Since 2013, Japanese prime ministers have stopped apologising to victims of its forces in World War II, under the precedent set by Shinzo Abe.

Some lawmakers’ denial of Japan’s military role in massive civilian deaths on Okinawa or the Nanking Massacre has also stirred controversy in the past.