Japan's government on Tuesday issued an apology for the country's past colonial rule of the Korean peninsula. In a statement, Prime Minister Naoto Kan expressed deep regret over the suffering inflicted during Japan's colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. The apology was timed to also precede South Korea's celebration of its 1945 liberation on August 15. Kan said that he sought to build a future-oriented relationship with South Korea.