Hakuo Yanagisawa KYODO PHOTO

Abe also said, however, that he sees no need for Yanagisawa, who apologized for the remarks, to resign as demanded by opposition parties.

Yanagisawa told reporters, after the remarks drew criticism from both opposition parties and the governing bloc, "I used such an expression to make it easier to explain about population projections. It was really inappropriate."

The Japan Times Weekly: Feb. 3, 2007
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