Friday’s statements were among the firmest expressions yet by Mr. Abe that he will adhere to a more moderate line on the emotional historical issues dividing Asia, after concerns that his government may be embracing more apologetic views of Japan’s wartime past. The statements also showed Mr. Abe to be distancing himself from his views before becoming prime minister, when he publicly questioned whether Japan’s imperial military had actually coerced the women, a doubt shared by many Japanese nationalists.

What was less clear was why he waited so long to reaffirm those apologies. Since Mr. Abe took office in December 2012, people close to him have described a constant tug of war in his administration between his moderate advisers, including many former elite civil servants, and his longtime supporters on the political far right, who want him to push back against what they call overly negative views of Japan’s wartime behavior.

Japanese officials suggested that the statements might be part of an effort by Mr. Abe to mend relations with South Korea and to persuade President Park Geun-hye of South Korea to meet him this month on the sidelines of a multinational nuclear security summit meeting in the Netherlands. Ms. Park has so far refused to meet with Mr. Abe until he shows a more remorseful attitude toward Japan’s brutal colonization of the Korean Peninsula.

Mr. Abe’s previous appeals to end what he calls masochistic views of Japan’s history had raised concerns among South Korea and other former victims of Japanese aggression that his administration would seek to whitewash his nation’s wartime atrocities. Even before he took office, American officials warned Mr. Abe that any perceived historical revisionism could isolate Japan at a time when the United States needed its largest Asian ally to help face the challenge of a resurgent China.

Political analysts said they doubted Friday’s statements would be enough to appease Ms. Park, and that Mr. Abe’s real target may be the United States, with whom he has sought to build close ties.