Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida renewed his peace pledge Tuesday as Japan observed the 78th anniversary of its World War II defeat, but he did not mention the country’s wartime aggression in Asia, while three of his former and serving ministers visited a controversial shrine seen by neighboring countries as a symbol of militarism.
Japan will “stick to our resolve to never repeat the tragedy of the war,” Kishida said at the solemn ceremony in a speech that was almost identical to what he read last year.
