Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to express Japan's "remorse" over World War II in an address at the Asian-African Summit next week in Jakarta, according to government sources.
Abe is expected to deliver a "future-oriented" speech and is unlikely to offer an apology over the war, the sources said Wednesday. That contrasts with former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who issued an apology at the 2005 summit of the Asian-African Conference.
Abe's speech at the April 22-23 summit, together with his address to a joint session of U.S. Congress on April 29, is likely to be reflected in the statement he issues in August to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the war.
Taking into account reactions to the two speeches by the international community, the Abe administration will speed up work on the August statement, which is also likely to highlight what Japan will do in the future rather than what it did before and during World War II.
However, one source said that with this year marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, Japan "has no choice but to touch on 'remorse' when speaking in front of leaders from Asian countries."
In the speech in Jakarta, which is expected to last about five minutes, Abe plans to emphasize Japan's postwar path as a peace-loving nation and his policy of proactively contributing to peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and the world, the sources said.
Abe is also expected to touch on Japan's contribution to prosperity in Asia by providing government aid to help developing countries with post-disaster reconstruction and infrastructure-building.
Abe will be the first Japanese prime minister to address the Bandung conference since Koizumi in April 2005.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will also attend the gathering.