Shinzo Abe is likely to reuse crucial phrases from past Japanese apologies for the second world war on tomorrow’s 70th anniversary, as he seeks to avoid fresh tensions with China and South Korea.
There has been speculation that Japan’s prime minister, known as a conservative nationalist, would use his proclamation to water down past apologies, even if he risked sparking protest across Asia and inflaming domestic debates about Japan’s wartime history.
But people involved in preparing the statement suggest Mr Abe will stick closely to words used by previous prime ministers, such as a reference to Japan’s “aggression”, despite his personal distaste for the language.