Defense Chief Kyuma resigns over A-bomb gaffe
Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma resigned Tuesday to take responsibility for controversial remarks he made over the weekend that were interpreted as justifying the U.S. atomic bombings of Japan in 1945.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe accepted Kyuma's resignation when the defense chief visited his official residence Tuesday afternoon.
"People do not seem to understand" the intentions behind the remarks, "so I told Prime Minister Abe that I need to take responsibility, and he accepted it," Kyuma told reporters after speaking with Abe.
Kyuma's resignation comes as the already beleaguered Abe prepares to lead his Liberal Democratic Party in the July 29 House of Councilors election.
Opinion polls from the past few days have shown Abe's approval ratings dipping to record lows in the wake of the government's pension record-keeping debacle, a Cabinet minister's suicide and other scandals, including the defense chief's latest gaffe.
Kyuma caused a stir Saturday when he said in a speech in Chiba Prefecture that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the closing days of World War II were unavoidable because the bombings were aimed at preventing the Soviet Union from entering the war against Japan.
"I understand the bombings brought the war to an end. I think it was something that couldn't be helped," he said.
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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe accepted Kyuma's resignation when the defense chief visited his official residence Tuesday afternoon.
"People do not seem to understand" the intentions behind the remarks, "so I told Prime Minister Abe that I need to take responsibility, and he accepted it," Kyuma told reporters after speaking with Abe.
Kyuma's resignation comes as the already beleaguered Abe prepares to lead his Liberal Democratic Party in the July 29 House of Councilors election.
Opinion polls from the past few days have shown Abe's approval ratings dipping to record lows in the wake of the government's pension record-keeping debacle, a Cabinet minister's suicide and other scandals, including the defense chief's latest gaffe.
Kyuma caused a stir Saturday when he said in a speech in Chiba Prefecture that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the closing days of World War II were unavoidable because the bombings were aimed at preventing the Soviet Union from entering the war against Japan.
"I understand the bombings brought the war to an end. I think it was something that couldn't be helped," he said.