The United States refrained from mentioning Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's failure to include a direct apology for Japan's wartime aggression in his statement on the end of World War II, U.S. government officials said recently, apparently worrying that any reference could encourage China and South Korea to step up their anti-Japan rhetoric.

The White House reacted positively to Abe's statement, saying it clearly conveyed his repentance, but it did not mention the lack of a new apology, one of U.S. officials noted.

Abe mentioned "feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology" in the statement to mark the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender in the war but only in the context of what past Japanese governments have repeatedly expressed over its actions during the war.