The US President says the visit by Japan's Prime Minister to the site of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor shows the power of reconciliation.

Japan's prime minister has offered "sincere and everlasting condolences" for the US service members who died when his country attacked Pearl Harbour, catapulting America into the Second World War.

Thousands of people have gathered at Pearl Harbour for a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the attack that plunged the United States into the Second World War and left more than 2,300 service people dead.

Japan's leader has said he will visit Pearl Harbour with US president Barack Obama at the end of this month.

75 years on, the consequences of Pearl Harbour have yet to be fully played out, writes Geoffrey Roberts