Tokyo: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will become the first Japanese leader to visit Peal Harbour when he will be in Hawaii on December 26 and 27 for talks with US President Barack Obama.
Abe will honour the war dead at the memorial but will not apoligise for the deadly December 7, 1941 assault on the US naval base. The surprise attached triggered World War II in the pacific.
The Japanese PM's visit to Pearl Harbour comes months after Barack Obama`s historic May trip to Hiroshima.
During the visit, the first by a sitting US president, Obama spoke of the suffering endured by the victims but offered no apology for dropping the world`s first nuclear bomb.
"The purpose of this visit is to commemorate war dead, not to apologise," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular press briefing in Tokyo, the AFP reported.
"The visit will serve as an opportunity to demonstrate to future generations our resolve not to repeat the horror and suffering of war as well as an opportunity to showcase the reconciliation between Japan and the United States," he added.
Abe -- a nationalist who has been criticised for playing down his country`s wartime record -- who will join him at Pearl Harbor.
His visit to Pearl Harbor also comes as Japan prepares to build a new relationship with Donald Trump, who will take over from Obama next month.
Trump sent shockwaves through Japan earlier this year when he appeared to call into question the two countries` security alliance, prompting Abe to become the first world leader to meet him after the election to confirm the relationship.
With AFP inputs
