Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said in a statement the country’s "colonization and invasions in the past brought enormous damage and pain, especially to the people of several Asian nations... We humbly accept this historical fact and once again express keen reflection and heartfelt apologies." The wording is similar to a message on the 50th anniversary in 1995 by then-prime minister Tomiichi Murayama.

Koizumi "affirmed anew that Japan would not walk down the path of war twice." He said in 60 years of peace Japan had “shown in action our reflection about war." He prime minister singled out China and Korea, nations "from which Japan is separated only by a narrow strip of water," saying, "We must join hands and maintain and develop peace in the region."

The Japanese press has interpreted Koizumi's statement as coming out of consideration for protests in both neighboring countries about resurgent nationalism in Japan and an emerging revisionist trend they see reflected in Koizumi’s repeated visits to Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, which houses memorials to convicted war criminals.

(englishnews@chosun.com )