apology

Perhaps this is just political rhetoric, but this article hit me powerfully, especially the part where Tokyo pledges to never again go to war. Wish other nations would follow suit....

TOKYO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi marked the 60th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War Two on Monday with an apology for suffering caused by Japanese military aggression, and pledged that Tokyo would never again go to war.

Sixty years after Emperor Hirohito exhorted his subjects to "bear the unbearable" and accept defeat, memories of the war that killed millions in Asia still bedevil relations between Japan and its neighbors, particularly China and North and South Korea.

"Japan caused huge damage and suffering to many countries, especially the people of Asia, with its colonization and aggression," Koizumi said in a statement.

"Humbly accepting this fact of history, we again express our deep remorse and heartfelt apology and offer our condolences to the victims of the war at home and abroad," he said.