Abe Bid to End War Apologies Risks Harming Japan-China Ties

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s bid to draw a line under Japan’s past apologies for its wartime actions risks undermining a fragile thaw in ties with his country’s two biggest trading partners in Asia.

In a long-awaited statement to mark the 70th anniversary of Japan’s World War II surrender -- one aimed at South Korea and China as much as his own citizens -- Abe said that Japanese people “must squarely face the history of the past.” Still, future generations can’t be expected to keep apologizing, he said.