Yanagisawa apologizes anew, adds gaffe

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe brushed off continued calls for welfare minister Hakuo Yanagisawa's resignation as the opposition parties ended their weeklong boycott and returned to Diet deliberations Wednesday.

Welfare Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa bows Wednesday before the Lower House Budget Committee to apologize anew for recent sexist remarks. KYODO PHOTO

The opposition had initiated the boycott to pressure Yanagisawa to resign over his remark equating women to "child-bearing machines."

Both Abe and Yanagisawa apologized for the welfare minister's remark but turned a deaf ear to calls for his resignation as they spoke before the House of Representatives Budget Committee.

With both ruling coalition and opposition members in attendance, the committee began deliberations in an intensive session on the issue of Japan's declining birthrate before turning to the fiscal 2007 budget.

"I'd like to apologize from my heart for creating turmoil and for greatly hurting women and people by using a really inappropriate expression," Yanagisawa said, referring to his Jan. 27 remark calling woman "child-bearing machines."

But he said he intends to remain in the post and deal with the declining birthrate.

"I also would like to apologize," Abe said later, calling the remark "extremely inappropriate."

But Abe stressed his intention to keep Yanagisawa on, saying, "I want the health, labor and welfare minister to fulfill his duties from the standpoint of the people."

Abe vowed to aggressively deal with the declining birthrate by creating "a Japan where people feel at ease to get married and raise their children under a basic strategy of assisting children and families."

The opposition stepped up calls for Yanagisawa to resign after he made fresh controversial remarks Tuesday, saying "healthy" young people want to get married and have at least two children.

"One cannot help but feel that the minister has no consideration whatsoever for couples who don't have children," said Yukio Edano of the Democratic Party of Japan.

He urged Yanagisawa to take the lead in creating measures to curb the declining birthrate that pay thoughtful heed to society as a whole. But in response, the minister only said he would look into the issue.

"Do you mean then that those who don't have two kids are unhealthy?" asked Miho Takai, also from the DPJ.

Yanagisawa responded by telling her there was no problem with his latest remarks, saying: "I was talking about the overall situation regarding young people. Whether a person wants to marry or have children is up to each individual. That's clear from the context."

During the weeklong opposition boycott, the governing coalition -- Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito -- pushed the fiscal 2006 supplementary budget through both the House of Representatives and House of Councilors.

The opposition parties agreed Tuesday night to end the boycott and change their strategy to hold both Abe and Yanagisawa accountable in Diet deliberations.

The agreement came at a meeting of the leaders of the DPJ, the Social Democratic Party and People's New Party (Kokumin Shinto).