Japan Foreign Minister Apologizes over Gaffe

July 11, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono has apologized for making a gaffe over his parliamentary appearance, a senior lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said Tuesday.

The foreign minister Monday offered an apology, saying he caused trouble, and promised cautiousness, Keiji Furuya, chairman of the House of Representatives steering committee, told a meeting of the panel.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura also told the meeting that he has issued a strict warning to Kono over the gaffe.

Kono has been under fire from opposition lawmakers over his remarks on July 3 in which he said the government was forced to waste taxpayers' money as he needed to charter a flight worth tens of millions of yen for an overseas trip because he attended a parliamentary meeting at the request of the opposition camp. Jiji Press