As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prepares to address the U.S. Congress in a highly anticipated speech on Wednesday local time, what he says about Japan's wartime past — and how he says it — is foremost on the minds of many, particularly in East Asia.
In the U.S., a group of survivors of the 1942 Bataan Death March and their supporters have weighed in as well, calling on U.S. congressional leaders to press Abe to admit atrocities were committed against U.S. and Filipino prisoners of war during the march, as well as on civilians in Asia who "bore the brunt" of the wider war.
"Prime Minister Abe has refused to acknowledge some of the war crimes committed on the Filipino, American, and Allied soldiers, civilians in the Philippines and other Asian countries," said Cecilia Gaerlan, executive director of the Bataan Legacy Historical Society, in an open letter Monday to Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Speaker Mitch McConnell.