Nearly 200 Western historians have called on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government to address Japan’s history of colonial rule and wartime aggression, in a clear rebuke of a leader who has clashed with neighbors over historical issues.

Among the 187 historians were John Dower, emeritus professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Herbert Bix, emeritus professor at Binghamton University; and Ezra Vogel, a Harvard historian. Mr. Dower and Mr. Bix wrote “Embracing Defeat” and “Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan,” respectively. Both books won the Pulitzer Prize and are considered required reading for those studying Japan’s modern history.