After 65 Years, The U.S. And Japan Start To Reconcile Over World War II

Words of peace: Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada offers an apology Monday in Tokyo for Japan's treatment of U.S. prisoners of war at a meeting with Americans who survived the Bataan Death March in the Philippines in 1942. KYODO PHOTO

Did Japan Apologize To US POWs In Exchange For Hiroshima Visit? -- Christian Science Monitor

In a first, Japan's foreign minister apologized to a group of former US World War II prisoners of war for inhumane treatment. The timing of the apology raises some questions.

Japan Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada apologized Monday to a group of former US prisoners of war for being abused and used as slave labor during World War II. It was the first public declaration of contrition the World War II veterans have received from Japan, signaling another step toward laying to rest the residual ill-feelings left by the war.

The apology came a month after a US official attended the annual memorial peace celebration in Hiroshima for the first time, raising questions about whether the two were connected.

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More News On This Historic U.S. - Japanese Meeting

Okada apologizes for U.S. POWs' treatment -- Japan Times
Japan foreign minister apologizes to US POWs -- AP
Former U.S. POWs Visit Japan as First-Time Guests -- Wall Street Journal
Japan offers 'heartfelt apology' to US POWs -- ABC News (Australia)

My Comment: The timing is suspicious, but still .... better late than never.