Japan on Saturday marked the 75th anniversary of its surrender in World War II, with Emperor Naruhito expressing "deep remorse" over his country's wartime actions at a somber annual ceremony curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Naruhito pledged to reflect on the war's events and expressed hope that the tragedy would never be repeated.
There was no word of apology from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who gave thanks for the sacrifices of the Japanese war dead but had nothing to say about the suffering of Japan's neighbours.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid tribute to veterans of the multinational World War II campaign against Japan, which formally ended 75 years ago some three months after Nazi Germany had been vanquished in Europe.
In an open V-J Day anniversary letter released Saturday and addressed to "Veterans of the Far East Campaign," Johnson hailed the courage of those who fought in Asia and the Pacific.
"You were the last to come home but your achievements are written in the lights of the glittering capitals of the dynamic region we see today," he said.
