Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is preparing to release a statement outlining his views on World War II after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Oct. 4 leadership election, government officials said Wednesday.

In order to prevent the statement from impacting the race, Ishiba, who is also the outgoing LDP president, has decided to release it just before his expected resignation early next month.

Ishiba, eager to issue a statement marking 80 years since the end of the war, believes it is necessary to examine the background leading up to the conflict and the domestic political situation at the time to avoid repeating the tragedy.

Meanwhile, some conservatives within the LDP have criticized Ishiba's intentions, saying that a new statement on the war might rekindle history disputes with other countries.

These conservative lawmakers have backed a 2015 statement on the war marking the 70th anniversary by then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

That statement expressed "profound grief" and "sincere condolences" over the war, but also said that Japan "must not let our children, grandchildren, and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with that war, be predestined to apologize."

With such opposing views in mind, Ishiba is apparently trying to minimize internal party friction by delaying the message's release until after the LDP election. Japan marked the anniversary of Japan's surrender in the war on Aug. 15.

He is expected to issue a statement that maintaining the recognition of history presented by past prime ministers, including Abe.

In his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Ishiba shared part of his planned message, highlighting Japan's postwar efforts toward world peace supported by the spirit of tolerance that other Asia nations have demonstrated.