Japan's Deputy PM forced to apologise after saying Adolf Hitler had 'right motives'
Taro Aso retracts statement saying he intended to stress importance of achieving results
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso has retracted a remark to lawmakers of his faction in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that could be interpreted as a defence of Adolf Hitler's motive for genocide during the Second World War.
Tuesday's comment by Aso, who also serves as finance minister, drew criticism from a US-based Jewish group. The incident followed a rare June apology by Japan's central bank over a board member's praise for Hitler's economic policies.
“It is clear from my overall remarks that I regard Hitler in extremely negative terms, and it's clear that his motives were also wrong,” Aso said in a statement.
Aso said he wanted to stress the importance of delivering results, but not defend Hitler.
“It was inappropriate that I cited Hitler as an example and I would like to retract that.”
Aso is no stranger to gaffes, having retracted a comment in 2013 about Hitler's rise to power that was interpreted as praising the Nazi regime.
Referring at the time to Japan's efforts to revise its constitution, he said the constitution of Weimar Germany had been changed before anyone realised, and asked, “Why don't we learn from that technique?”
On Tuesday, Kyodo news agency quoted Aso as saying, “I don't question your motives (to be a politician). But the results are important. Hitler, who killed millions of people, was no good, even if his motives were right.”
The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center expressed “distress and disappointment” at Aso's comment.
“This is just the latest of a troubling list of 'misstatements' and are downright dangerous,” the centre's head, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, said in a statement on Tuesday.
“These words damage Japan's reputation at the very time when all Americans want to show their solidarity with Japan, our sister democracy and ally, following the missile launch from Kim Jong-un's North Korea,” he added.
Aso's gaffe came after US President Donald Trump drew sharp criticism for comments that blamed “many sides” for this month's violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
In June, Bank of Japan board member Yutaka Harada told a seminar Hitler's economic policies had been “appropriate” and “wonderful” but had enabled the Nazi dictator to do “horrible” things.
AP
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments