Japan is on Saturday, marking 70 years since the end of World War 11 but not without criticism from South Korea and China.
Both countries accused Japan of failing to properly atone for its actions during the war.
At a memorial service in Tokyo, Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe and Emperor Akihito observed a minute’s silence.
On Friday, Mr Abe had expressed “profound grief” over Japan’s role in the war.
But South Korean President, Park Geun-Hye, said the Japanese Premier’s remarks “leaves much to be desired”.
Speaking on Saturday at a ceremony in Seoul, Mrs Geun-Hye called on Mr Abe to reiterate Japan’s apologies for abuses during its wartime occupations of neighbouring countries.
“History can never be covered up. History remains alive through its witnesses’ vivid testimony,” she said.
A spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that Japan should have made a “sincere apology to the people of victim countries rather than being evasive on this major issue of principle”.
Speaking at the ceremony in Tokyo, Mr Abe said Japan’s war lords “sacrificed their life for the future and the prosperity of our homeland”.
“Their sacrifice was the foundation of today’s prosperity and we shall never forget their contribution. We always reflect the past and we hate the horror of the war,” he said.
Japan surrendered to the allies on August 15, 1945, freed the then-unified Korea from 35 years of occupation, leading Koreans to celebrate the date as Liberation Day.
