Gaffe-prone Japanese Minister of Finance Taro Aso yesterday apologized over comments seen as blaming childless couples for economic woes caused by a rapidly aging country, trying to halt a political storm that has embarrassed the ruling party.
The comments came as the finance ministry has been implementing policies to manage an aging and shrinking population that has put strains on Japan’s social welfare safety net and contributed to a labor shortage in the nation of about 126 million people.
Aso, a senior member of the Liberal Democratic Party, told reporters he was simply stating that people were not having as many children these days and moving toward a longer lifespan itself is not bad.
Photo: AP
However, opposition politicians said the comments showed him being out of touch with struggles faced by many families.
“Some women may have heard my comments and thought ‘I’d wanted to have children and couldn’t,’ and I apologize if I’d caused offense,” Aso said.
The comment that sparked the fuss was made over the weekend in Fukuoka Prefecture.
“Many people try to put the blame on older people, but there is no sense in that. Rather, those who aren’t bearing children are the problem,” Aso was quoted as saying by the Asahi Shimbun, one of Japan’s largest.
The minister later withdrew the comment.
Opposition politician Renho Murata blasted Aso on her Twitter feed, saying: “This isn’t a misunderstanding. He’s not even trying to understand the women who can’t give birth, even if they want children.”
However, Aso has been able to survive a political career strewn with verbal blunders, with many Japanese accepting them as part of his persona.
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