HONOLULU -- The issue of Japan's apology for invading China from 1931 to 1945 and occupying Korea from 1910 to 1945 just won't go away, for two reasons:
* The Chinese, South Koreans and North Koreans don't want the issue resolved because it has been a useful weapon to hammer Japan for political and economic concessions and to divert attention from domestic troubles such as unemployment or corruption or repression.
* The Japanese, despite repeated apologies over the years, have been singularly inept in putting the dispute to rest with muted and often grudging expressions of remorse, by a failure to take credit for economic aid to Asians, and generally by a lack of forceful communication.