Outgoing Japan Defence Minister Says A-Bomb Remarks Misrepresented By Media

Text of report in English by Japanese news agency Kyodo

Tokyo, July 3 Kyodo – Outgoing Defence Minister Fumio Kyuma insisted Tuesday his controversial comments concerning the 1945 US atomic bombing of Nagasaki were misrepresented by the media, while admitting he used some words carelessly and ended up hurting atomic- bomb survivors.

At a press conference hastily arranged after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe accepted his resignation, Kyuma expressed no regrets about leaving the Cabinet, saying he has a “sense of accomplishment” in terms of what was achievable during his nine-plus months as minister.

Kyuma caused a stir when he said in a speech at a university in Chiba Prefecture on Saturday, “I understand the bombing brought the war to its end. I think it was something that couldn’t be helped.”

At his farewell news conference Tuesday afternoon, the native of Nagasaki Prefecture said, “As I look back, the words ‘couldn’t be helped,’ which I carelessly used in my speech, were reported by the media as though I had endorsed the atomic bombings.”

“I have said and I also said at the venue that day that the atomic bombings should not have happened, but it is a fact that I used the words ‘couldn’t be helped,’ and there were those who interpreted my expression as linked to the atomic bombings probably because of my careless words,” Kyuma explained.

He also reiterated his apology to victims and survivors of the atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima that his remarks were taken to appear as if he made light of their situation and sufferings.

The defence minister said he decided to give up his Cabinet post because he did not want the uproar to have inclement effects for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the New Komeito party, in the July 29 House of Councillors election.

“I came to think I would feel bad if I would end up getting in the way with the upcoming election while Prime Minister Abe is working hard on various reforms and other measures as part of ‘departure from the postwar regime,”‘ Kyuma said.

“So I decided to step down without hesitation so that my careless remarks would not work negatively against Prime Minister Abe’s stance, although they may already have had negative effects,” he added.

Kyuma noted that the Defence Agency was upgraded to a ministry in January and that the defence-related bills the government submitted to the Diet have all been approved in the current session, including a special measures law to enable extension of the Japanese air troops’ mission in Iraq by two years.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.