Japan marks WWII’s end, Kishida doesn’t mention aggression

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has renewed Japan’s no-war pledge at a somber ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of the country’s World War II defeat, but he did not mention Japanese wartime aggression. Acknowledging Japan’s wartime hostilities was a tradition for Japanese leaders for several years until Shinzo Abe stopped doing so in 2013. Kishida’s speech Monday was his first such address as prime minister since taking office in October. Kishida said Japan will “stick to our resolve to never repeat the tragedy of the war.” While Kishida avoided visiting a controversial shrine to Japan’s war dead, three ministers in his Cabinet prayed at the shrine.