Abe Says Japan Can't Emulate Germany Over Wartime Guilt

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said Japan cannot follow in the footsteps of Germany in atoning for its wartime atrocities.

In an interview with German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published Tuesday, Abe said that the post-World War II history of Europe and Asia are completely different.

The FAZ recalled that Abe has dismissed repeated demands from China and Korea to learn from how Germany faced up to its wartime atrocities and made reparations.

Abe said reconciliatory gestures and apologies from Germany were needed after the war since the biggest goal of European countries was to create a pan-European community. But he claimed Japan took different steps and set its own standards for compensation by signing peaceful treaties with neighboring countries.

He insisted that Japan has consistently supported poor Asian countries in the form of development aid and cooperation.

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