Former Japan PM Tomiichi Murayama dies

Former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, who served as leader of the country in the mid-1990s, passed away Friday in his hometown Oita, at the age of 101.

Born on March 3, 1924, Murayama, in office from 1994 to 1996, issued the 1995 statement on the 50th anniversary of Japan's surrender in which he expressed "deep remorse" over the country's atrocities in Asia. Murayama retired from politics in 2000 and continued to devote himself to the cause of peace.