Japanese Emperor Akihito called for further understanding and thinking over World War II, saying it is extremely important for the country's future particularly at a time when increasing number of Japanese population, especially the young generation, have unclear perception about the war that ended 70 years ago.
The emperor made the remarks during a press conference ahead of his 82nd birthday Wednesday, according to local reports. He also said that he spent the past year thinking about the war.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII. In his WWII anniversary statement on Aug. 15 during an annual national memorial service, the emperor for the first time expressed his deep remorse over the war in such an event.
Global media analyzed that the emperor's statement was more apologetic than that of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who delivered a speech on Aug. 14 also to mark the WWII anniversary.
The so-called "Abe statement," stopping short of offering the prime minister's own apology for the war, diluted Japan's responsibilities for its past barbarian aggressions against its Asian neighbors and Abe said that Japanese future generations should not "be predestined to apologize" for the nation's past wrongdoings.
The prime minister's statement failed to help improve mutual trust on historical issues among Japan and its Asian neighbors victimized by Japan's wartime atrocities.
The emperor also expressed in his birthday press conference his sympathy for those affected by volcano eruption in southwest Japan and torrential rain that stormed the country in September.
Meanwhile, the emperor expressed pleasure at two Japanese scientists winning Nobel Prizes in medicine and physics, and the successful test flight of Japan's first domestically produced commercial passenger jet.
