The head of Japan's biggest business lobby has called on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to compile a statement on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in consideration of the relationship with China and South Korea.
"I hope (Abe) will issue a statement that would be able to garner international understanding and sympathy," Keidanren chief Sadayuki Sakakibara said in a recent interview.
Diplomatic relations between Tokyo and Beijing and Seoul have been strained over territorial and historical issues, but business relations have started to improve.