Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has apologized for Japan's annexation of the Korean Peninsula, aiming to strengthen future ties with South Korea. South Korea has accepted the apology.

During a news conference in Tokyo, Naoto Kan apologized and emphasized a more future-oriented relationship with his country's neighbor South Korea.

Naoto Kan, Japanese Prime Minister, said, "We need to apologize for our conduct during the last 100 years and move forward in cooperation with South Korea into the next 100 years."

In addition to the apology, Japan will also return some Korean artifacts to South Korea, including some royal records of the Joseon Dynasty.

South Korea has accepted the apology.

Kim Young-Sun, Spokesman of South Korean Foreign Minister, said, "We accept the Japanese Prime Minister's statement as Prime Minister Kan's and the Japanese government's willingness to overcome the unfortunate past and to develop a bright South Korea-Japan relationship in the future."

The apology comes 100 years after Japan's annexation of the Korean Peninsula.

During Japan's occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45, many Koreans were forced to fight as front-line soldiers, work in slave-labor camps, or serve as "comfort women" in brothels operated by the military.

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