Japanese PM Offers 'Deep Repentance' Over WWII

The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has offered the United States his 'deep repentance' over his country's part in World War II.

His comments came during an address to Congress on a state visit to Washington DC.

Standing in the exact spot in which President Roosevelt asked for a declaration of war on Japan after the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbour, Mr Abe told the audience...

"I offer with profound respect my eternal condolences to the souls of all the American people that were lost during World War II."

Shinzo Abe was however keen to shift the focus onto the rebuilding of US-Japanese relations over the last 70 years. Indeed Japan is now America's biggest foreign creditor.

Calling the alliance a "miracle of history" he pushed for the US to back a contentious 12-nation Pacific trade pact.

He also used the platform to fire a warning shot at China, who is currently expanding their reach in the South China Seas with the building of new military installations on remote reefs, saying "countries must not use force or coercion to drive their claims."