List of war apology statements issued by Japan

This is a list of war apology statements issued by the state of Japan with regard to the war crimes and atrocities committed by the Empire of Japan during World War II. The statements were made on and after the end of World War II in Asia, from the 1950s to the 2010s. There is an ongoing controversy regarding the way these statements are categorized, that being the question whether they are formal apologies or general statements of remorse, each of which carry a different level of responsibility and recognition.

At the end of the Pacific Theater of World War II, the Imperial Japanese government accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. In 1945, the unconditional surrender of the Empire of Japan was formally confirmed aboard the Allied battleship, USS Missouri (BB-63). Once the formal documents were signed, General Douglas MacArthur, representing the Allies, was named the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers in Japan.

Emperor Hirohito let it be known to General MacArthur that he was prepared to apologize formally to General MacArthur for Japan's actions during World War II—including an apology for the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

In one version of the formal apology, Emperor Hirohito, the Japanese monarch, is reported to have said to General MacArthur: "I come before you to offer myself to the judgment of the powers you represent, as one to bear sole responsibility for every political and military decision made and action taken by my people in the conduct of the war."

In a second version of the formal apology, Patrick Lennox Tierney, claims that he was an eye-witness when the Emperor came to the Allied Supreme Commander's headquarters to present this apology. Tierney was in his office on the fifth floor of the Dai-Ichi Insurance Building in Tokyo. This was the same floor where MacArthur's suite was situated. Tierney reported that when the emperor arrived, MacArthur refused to admit him or acknowledge him, and the pivotal moment passed.

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