supporters of the statement including yukio edano, the secretary-general of the ruling democratic party, as well as the leaders of the opposition nuko meto and social democratic parties. edano said it sends a positive message on japan and south korea's future-oriented ties that would lead to stability in east asia. but critics from the ruling democratic party say issuing a statement each time a new cabinet takes office goes too far. they say japan must change its self-depreciating attitude, claiming that it undermines its national interest. former prime minister shinzo abe of the opposition liberal democratic party says the statement will likely spark fresh debate on war compensation to south korean individuals and leave a lasting scar. ldp leader tanigaki said the statement must be discussed in the diet. >>> the world health organization says the new h1n1 influenza pandemic is now over after assessing the global situation at a meeting of international experts on tuesday. the highest alert has been in place since june last year. >> the world is no long er in influnsa pan demache letter.