A young woman holds a placard protesting against controversial military reform bills outside Japan's parliament in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday. Lawmakers passed two measures to expand the role of Japan's military for the first time since World War II. Franck Robichon/EPA/Landov hide caption
Japan's Emperor Akihito delivers his remarks with Empress Michiko during a memorial service at Nippon Budokan martial arts hall in Tokyo, on Saturday. His expression of "deep remorse" for Japan's wartime past is seen as an unprecedented apology. Shizuo Kambayashi/AP hide caption
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows after delivering an address marking the 70th anniversary of World War II's end for his country. Abe noted Japan's continued grief over the war, but he also said future generations shouldn't be compelled to apologize for the war. Toru Hanai/Reuters /Landov hide caption
A man pushes a loaded bicycle down a cleared path in a flattened area of Nagasaki more than a month after the nuclear attack in 1945. Stanley Troutman/AP hide caption
James Murphy, World War II veteran and prisoner of war, was photographed at his home in Santa Maria, Calif., on Thursday. Murphy received an apology from a senior Mitsubishi executive for being forced to work in the company's mines during the war. Michael A. Mariant/AP hide caption
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Boston on Monday. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, left, meets Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari in Tokyo. The United States and Japan are nearing a major trade deal, according to Japan's prime minister. Ataru Haruna/AP hide caption
Lumberjack Yukiko Koyama cuts pine trees on a hillside overlooking Matsumoto City in Nagano prefecture on Japan's central Honshu island. Koyama's employment at a local timber mill is partially subsidized by a government program to get more Japanese women into the workforce. Yo Nagaya/NPR hide caption
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a press conference Tuesday at his official residence in Tokyo. Kazuhiro Nogi /AFP/Getty Images hide caption
A November demonstration against Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Designated Secrets Bill drew thousands of protesters. The Japanese Parliament has since passed the law, under which people convicted of leaking classified information will face five to 10 years in prison. Franck Robichon/European Pressphoto Agency/Landov hide caption
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, follows a Shinto priest during his visit to the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo on Thursday. Franck Robichon /EPA/LANDOV hide caption
French President François Hollande is welcomed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prior to their meeting at Abe's official residence in Tokyo. Toru Tamanaka/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Models from Triumph International display the new "Branomics Bra" on Wednesday in Tokyo. Yoshikazu Tsuno/AP hide caption
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech Sunday in Tokyo as Emperor Akihito, third from right, and Empress Michiko, second from right, listen during a ceremony marking the day Japan recovered its sovereignty under the San Francisco Peace treaty in 1952. Itsuo Inouye/AP hide caption