Mr Wen, the first Chinese premier to visit Tokyo in seven years, laid the blame for Japan's invasion and 1931-1945 occupation of China - still a bitter memory for many Chinese - on the shoulders of a "limited number" of wartime leaders.
"As the Chinese leaders of the past generations have said, the responsibility for the war of aggression should rest with a limited number of militarists," Mr Wen said.
Relations between Asia's two largest economies were badly strained during the 2001-2006 tenure of then Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, who repeatedly visited a war shrine that Beijing and Seoul associate with imperialism.
Just days after taking over from Mr Koizumi, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe - who made his career as a hardliner on emotive history issues - went to Beijing in October.
In a possible warning to Mr Abe not to visit the Yasukuni shrine in future, Mr Wen said he expected Japan to continue to show regret for the past.
Mr Wen, who met Mr Abe yesterday for a dinner of sushi and Japanese beef, told Japanese MPs today that while their Prime Minister's visit to Beijing had broken the ice, he aimed to "melt" the ice with his trip to Tokyo.
Sporting black sportswear bearing logos for next year's Beijing Olympics, the 64-year-old jogged around a Tokyo park, chatted with members of the public and showed off a few tai chi moves.
Despite tension over the past, China and Japan have become increasingly economically interlinked, with Japan counting on its giant neighbour as a vital source both for workers and for middle-class consumers.
China, the only Asian nation with veto power on the UN Security Council, in 2005 scuttled Japan's cherished bid for a permanent seat on the prestigious body, saying Tokyo had not atoned for past atrocities.
China's campaign against Japan's Security Council bid enraged conservative leaders in Tokyo, who accused Beijing of whipping up animosity and not showing gratitude for Japan's aid to China after the war.
"China-Japan relations have come under rains and winds. But the foundation of the friendly ties between the Chinese and Japanese people are as unshakable as Mount Tai and Mount Fuji."
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