Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is carefully considering whether to release a statement this year to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.

While conservative members of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party oppose releasing such a statement, the party's coalition partner, Komeito, is calling on the prime minister to send out a message that reiterates the country's commitment to being a pacifist nation.

"No decisions have been made yet on whether to release a new statement," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a news conference on Friday.

"We plan to consider what we'll do from various perspectives, based on past events," he said.

Then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama released a statement on the 50th anniversary in 1995, followed by statements from prime ministers Junichiro Koizumi, on the 60th anniversary, and Shinzo Abe, on the 70th.

Tetsuo Saito, leader of Komeito, which touts itself as a "party of peace," has urged Ishiba to publish an 80th-anniversary statement, saying that doing so is of significance for Japan, a country pursuing peace.

In his 2015 statement on the 70th anniversary, Abe had sought to put an end to Japan's diplomacy centered around apologies to countries over its wartime actions.

Abe's statement included the terms "aggression," "colonial rule," "remorse" and "apology" — keywords that appeared in Murayama's statement.

But Abe's statement also said, "We must not let our children, grandchildren, and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with that war, be predestined to apologize."

Many LDP lawmakers think that Ishiba does not need to release a new statement because Abe's statement achieved a certain goal. Conservative members, in particular, are worried that a new statement will rewrite the 2015 statement.

If Ishiba fails to handle the matter appropriately, this could deal a blow to his already shaky political foundations as he leads a minority government.

Ishiba's immediate focus is on getting his government's fiscal 2025 budget plan through parliament by the end of March.

"We can't discuss future events yet," a senior Ishiba administration official said.