Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday offered condolences at historic pearl harbor during his visit to the site along with United States President Barack Obama.

Shinzo Abe became the first Japanese prime minister to visit the memorial which is a centerpiece of the historic site.

Japanese Prime Shinzo Abe Minister pledged during the visit that Japan would never wage war again.

Abe visit to United States comes weeks before Republican President-elect Donald Trump is about to take office.

The visit is a bid to cement the bilateral ties between United States and Japan amid rising concerns that incoming president Donald Trump would have a more complicated relationship with Japan.

Both the world leaders commemorated the dead at the USS Arizona Memorial, built over the remains of the sunken battleship.

Reuters quoted Abe as saying "We must never repeat the horrors of war again. This is the solemn vow we, the people of Japan, have taken,".

After their remarks, both leaders greeted U.S. veterans who survived the attack.

However, Japanese Prime Minister Shizo Abe did not apologised for the attack.

Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor with torpedo planes, bombers and fighter planes on the morning of December 7, 1941, pounding the U.S. fleet moored there in the hope of destroying U.S. power in the Pacific.

Earlier this year, U.S. President Barack Obama, became the first incumbent president to visit Hiroshima, where the United States dropped an atomic bomb in 1945.

Obama termed Abe's visit a "historic gesture" that was "a reminder that even the deepest wounds of war can give way to friendship and a lasting peace."

Japan hopes to present a strong alliance with the United States amid concerns about China's expanding military capability.

Watch Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speech at Pearl Harbor here: