Tokyo
On the 60th anniversary of V-J Day, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apologized this week for Japan’s invasion of much of Asia during World War II. “Our country has caused tremendous damage and pain to the peoples of many countries, especially Asian countries,” he said. “I reflect most deeply and offer apologies from my heart.” Japan offered a similar apology 10 years ago. But Asian countries were not buying it. Both North and South Korean officials said Japan still refused to acknowledge that it kept thousands of Korean women as sex slaves for Japanese troops. Protesters in China accused Japan of insincerity, pointing to Koizumi’s past visits to a shrine that honors some of Japan’s top war criminals as well as other war dead.
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