Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday apologized for Tokyo's wartime colonization and invasions in Asia on occasion of the 60th anniversary of the country's surrender.

Koizumi also pledged Japan would never forget the "terrible lessons" of the war.

In a statement, the Japanese prime minister expressed his "deep reflections and heartfelt remorse" for the damages caused by Japan during World War II.

"Japan is resolved to contribute to world peace and prosperity without starting a war again," he said in the statement, which the cabinet approved earlier Monday, on the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII.

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2005)