Various opinions are noisily expressed at home and abroad on the content of a statement Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to issue this summer to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Some say the statement should place more emphasis on what Japan intends to do in the future while others prefer to see Abe express remorse over what Japan did, especially to its neighbors before and during the war.

In view of the dramatic changes in the international situation, those who like to see Japan look more to the future think that expression of "excessive remorse" would be a step backward.

Abe may be thinking that his policy regarding the statement is being obstructed by China and South Korea, on one hand, and by the "left-leaning" media, on the other. But the circumstances are a bit more complicated.