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Japan marks 67th anniversary of WWII’s end

TOKYO — Japan is marking the 67th anniversary of its World War II surrender with a somber memorial led by its emperor and other commemorations.

Scars from the war remain decades after it ended, and Wednesday’s ceremonies come as frictions over territorial disputes with Japan’s neighbors have been heating up, with Tokyo angered over a visit by South Korean President Lee Myung Bak to contested islands in the Sea of Japan. A visit by a Japanese Cabinet member to Yasukuni Shrine, a memorial honoring World War II dead, including war criminals, is likely to provoke protests from countries that bore the brunt of Japan’s colonial aggression.

Emperor Akihito, whose father made the unprecedented 1945 national radio address announcing the war could not be won, will offer prayers for the war dead.