The public furore over the minister's admission on Monday is another headache for the government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, which is grappling with a series of scandals.
The main opposition Democratic Party had called for Nakagawa to resign after he acknowledged the government's promise had not been kept, and a consumers' group echoed that stance.
"The Japanese government should not have accepted what the United States said at face value, but should have checked the US safety measures and policy itself," said Hiroko Mizuhara, secretary general of the Consumers Union of Japan.
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