Nakayama apologizes for gaffes, opposition demands dismissal

TOKYO, Sept. 26 Kyodo - New transport minister Nariaki Nakayama on Friday apologized for his
controversial remarks that included calling Japan ''ethnically homogenous,'' in
the face of criticism lobbed at him not only by opposition but ruling party
members as well as the indigenous Ainu people and others who felt offended by
the remarks.
While Nakayama denied resigning over his verbal gaffes, made just a day after
he assumed the post under Prime Minister Taro Aso, opposition parties called
for his dismissal and said they will question Aso's responsibility for
appointing the minister.
Yukio Hatoyama, secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan, called the
remarks extremely rude, telling reporters a mere retraction of them is not
enough and that Nakayama ''needs to give up his post, not the remarks.''
Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party, said, ''Is he ignorant
of a Diet resolution which all the members (of both houses of the Diet)
supported?'' referring to the parliamentary resolution that urged the
government to recognize the Ainu as an indigenous people and to upgrade their
status as they have led underprivileged lives under the past assimilation
policy.
Members of the New Komeito party, the coalition partner of Aso's ruling Liberal
Democratic Party, also complained about the remarks, with Diet affairs chief
Yoshio Urushibara saying, ''They are not something that a minister should
say.''
Nakayama, minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism, offered an
apology in a news conference Friday, saying, ''My recognition is that the Ainu
are an indigenous people with various distinctive points.''
He also apologized for another remark in media interviews about those who have
engaged in years of struggle against the construction of Narita airport. He had
called them ''more or less squeaky wheels, or I believe they are (the product)
of bad postwar education.''
''I'm very sorry for causing much trouble. I retract the comment,'' he told a
press conference Friday, while refusing to step down to take responsibility
over the remarks.
Protests also came from those who felt offended by the remarks.
The Hokkaido Utari Association, a group of Ainu people in Hokkaido, lodged a
protest on Friday as association members visited the ministry in Tokyo to
register their displeasure with Nakayama's remark.
''I'm having difficulties understanding why the same remark keeps popping up''
from politicians, said Tadashi Kato, the association's director.
Chiba Gov. Akiko Domoto and Narita Mayor Kazunari Koizumi visited the ministry
and handed a protest letter to Nakayama. In it, they said, ''We cannot help
feeling strongly disappointed. (The remark) will have an impact on the
upgrading and operation of the airport.''
In the media interviews, Nakayama had also disparaged the Japan Teachers'
Union, the nation's largest federation of school teachers' unions, in the
context of a bribery scandal involving the Oita prefectural board of education.
''The woeful state of Oita Prefecture's board of education boils down to
Nikkyoso,'' Nakayama said, using the shorthand for the group. ''Nikkyoso
(members') children can become teachers even if their grades are bad. That's
why the aptitude levels in Oita Prefecture are low,'' he said.
On Friday, the union lodged a protest and demanded his resignation. In the
letter, it said Nakayama's remark ''profaned the daily educational activities
by teachers, staff members and children and trampled on their human rights.''
Nakayama declined to meet with Mutsuko Takahashi, the group's vice chairwoman,
who sought a meeting with him at the ministry, citing that his jurisdiction
does not cover education and that he did not have time to meet with her.
Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura told a regular press
conference Friday that he told ministers during an informal session following
the day's official Cabinet meeting ''to be careful not to make remarks that
would cause misunderstanding among the public.''
==Kyodo