Japan says honoring apologies for WWII atrocities

The Japanese government appears to be backtracking from earlier, more nationalistic views, with Tokyo confirming it will continue to honor past apologies for atrocities committed during World War Two.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe previously threatened to revoke apologies to wartime sex slave victims but has now said that apologies made by previous governments will not be watered down.

Japan formally apologized in 1993, to women who were forced into wartime brothels for the Japanese military, and again in 1995 to nations that suffered at the hands of the country.

In what appears to be a response to the international community's growing concern of Japan's increasing nationalism, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan had 'accepted the facts of history in a spirit of humility' and that Abe 'shared that view.'