Washington - Shinzo Abe is expected to become the first Japanese prime minister to address a joint session of the US Congress next month, crowning a visit focused on deepening trade and military ties.
Abe is due to make the speech during a trip to Washington at the end of next month, diplomatic and legislative sources told AFP, with an official announcement expected soon.
Few Japanese politicians have ever addressed Congress and none have done so in a coveted joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Japan's neighbours, which have perennially strained ties with Tokyo given the bitter legacy of World War II and ongoing territorial disputes, were muted in their reaction.
Seoul called on Abe to use the opportunity to express his "sincere repentance" for wartime atrocities, while China's ministry of foreign affairs merely noted the reports of the invitation.
"If the speech by Prime Minister Abe is made, it should share the view about history held by (Japan's) previous governments and show sincere repentance for the past", an official with South Korea's foreign ministry told journalists.
He said that while Abe's government has publicly endorsed a 1995 apology for wartime wrongs, ministers were pushing for more emphasis on patriotism in schools and making visits to a shrine that honours war dead, including convicted war criminals.
Seoul also believes Tokyo has yet to fully atone for the excesses of its colonial past and the forced recruitment of South Korean women to wartime military brothels.
The friction is a source of irritation for Washington, which would rather its two key regional allies bury the hatchet and instead focus on forming a united front against an increasingly assertive China.
The issue of wartime sex slavery was also behind some US opposition to Abe's invitation, sources said.
Japan says it has already apologized, offered financial compensation and psychological help to victims.
Sources said that Abe's speech was expected to echo some of the themes from his July address to the Australian parliament, where he expressed humility about the "evils and horrors" of Japan's history.
AFP
