Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Thursday to increase efforts to alter views abroad on Japan's actions in World War II by disseminating the "correct" view, as he put it.

He cited a U.S. textbook that informs its readers of the thousands of women and girls who were forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels. This, he said, shows Japan must fight allegations that are not true. He said meekness is not valued in international society.

"I just looked at a document, (U.S. publisher) McGraw Hill's textbook, and I was shocked," Abe said during the Lower House Budget Committee. "This kind of textbook is being used in the U.S., as we did not protest the things we should have, or we failed to correct the things we should have.