Quote:
Japan's new trade minister has quit after calling the area around the tsunami-hit ********* nuclear plant a "ghost town", media reports say.
Yoshio Hachiro is also reported to have rubbed his jacket against a reporter, saying "I will give you radiation" after visiting the plant on Thursday.
Mr Hachiro's comments were widely seen as insensitive and prompted calls by opposition parties for him to resign.
PM Yoshihiko Noda, who appointed him, later said they were inappropriate.
"Sad to say, the centres of cities, towns and villages around it are a ghost town ["shi no machi" in Japanese] without a soul in sight," Mr Hachiro said at a news conference on Thursday.
On Friday, Mr Noda said the remarks were inappropriate and that he wanted Mr Hachiro, who was appointed on 2 September, to apologise.
Tadamori Oshima, vice-president of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, condemned Mr Hachiro, saying: "It is a remark that deprives disaster-affected people of hope and is worthy of disqualifying him as a minister."
Mr Hachiro's reported resignation comes as Japan prepares to mark the six-month anniversary on Sunday of the devastating tsunami and earthquake that hit Tokyo and north-eastern Japan, and the ensuing nuclear crisis.
Yoshio Hachiro is also reported to have rubbed his jacket against a reporter, saying "I will give you radiation" after visiting the plant on Thursday.
Mr Hachiro's comments were widely seen as insensitive and prompted calls by opposition parties for him to resign.
PM Yoshihiko Noda, who appointed him, later said they were inappropriate.
"Sad to say, the centres of cities, towns and villages around it are a ghost town ["shi no machi" in Japanese] without a soul in sight," Mr Hachiro said at a news conference on Thursday.
On Friday, Mr Noda said the remarks were inappropriate and that he wanted Mr Hachiro, who was appointed on 2 September, to apologise.
Tadamori Oshima, vice-president of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, condemned Mr Hachiro, saying: "It is a remark that deprives disaster-affected people of hope and is worthy of disqualifying him as a minister."
Mr Hachiro's reported resignation comes as Japan prepares to mark the six-month anniversary on Sunday of the devastating tsunami and earthquake that hit Tokyo and north-eastern Japan, and the ensuing nuclear crisis.
source.
It amazes me how someone can be this stupid, it's to be expected that people are still sensitive about the whole deal and as minister he should've been aware that he was not in a position to joke about this.
But what I'm really wondering is if he's got any records for shortest career as a minister now.
Edited, Sep 10th 2011 3:27pm by Aethien
