Japan's Kyodo News Agency says Tokyo is mulling issuing a statement in the name of Prime Minister Naoto Kan on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Japan's annexation of Korea.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku told a news conference Friday that the government is considering the matter, but has yet to reach a conclusion.

Attention is being drawn to whether the statement, if issued, will convey more remorse than former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama's 1995 apology for Japan's past wrongdoings.

A diplomatic official in Seoul says Sengoku's comment shows that Japan is actively seeking to resolve bilateral conflicts regarding its checkered past.

On August 15th, 1995, Murayama offered expressions of regret and apologies for his country's past aggressions and atrocities.