After flying his kite for months, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued a statement about Japanese aggression in World War II with phrases that had rarely appeared in his narratives of his country's war history.

Among some 4,000 words, he included "deep repentance", "heartfelt apology", "colonial rule" and "aggression" in his statement, which is three times longer than the one issued by his predecessor Tomiichi Murayama.

Obviously he wants to use his statement as an attempt to have the controversies of Japan's war history closed.