Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's statement to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II should retain wording from past apologies, according to a high-ranking Komeito official.
The statement should incorporate remorse for "colonial rule" and "aggression," Tetsuo Saito, Komeito's deputy secretary-general, said in an interview Monday in Tokyo.
These terms were used in the landmark 1995 war apology by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama.