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At Pearl Harbor, Japanese PM Expresses Regret over 1941 Attack

HeadlineDec 28, 2016

In Hawaii, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the U.S. naval station at Pearl Harbor on Tuesday, expressing regret for Japan’s attack on the base 75 years ago. Abe was welcomed by President Barack Obama, and the pair laid wreaths at the site and offered prayers for the dead. As expected, Abe did not issue a formal apology.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: “As the prime minister of Japan, I offer my sincere and everlasting condolences to the souls of those who lost their lives here, as well as to the spirits of all the brave men and women whose lives were taken by a war that commenced in this very place, and also to the souls of the countless innocent people who became victims of the war. We must never repeat the horrors of war again. This is a solemn vow we, the people of Japan, have taken.”

Chinese officials blasted Abe’s comments at Pearl Harbor, calling the prime minister unrepentant for war crimes committed by Japanese soldiers in China and Korea before 1945. The comments came amid mounting tensions in the Western Pacific, where China recently steamed an aircraft carrier and other warships near the southern coast of Taiwan.

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